Added 9 October 2026
absolute
/ˈæb.sə.luːt/ adjective
Latin root: absolūtus First recorded: 1380 Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about absolute at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller} Unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks; (legally) unlimited in power, especially if despotic. Characteristic of an absolutist ruler: domineering, peremptory.
- Unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks; (legally) unlimited in power, especially if despotic. Characteristic of an absolutist ruler: domineering, peremptory.
- Characteristic of an absolutist ruler: domineering, peremptory.
noun
-
That which exists (or has a certain property, nature, size, etc) independent of references to other standards or external conditions; that which is universally valid; that which is not relative, conditional, qualified or mitigated.
moral absolutes
- In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.
- A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.
Origin
First attested around 1380. From Middle English absolut, from Middle French absolut, from Latin absolūtus (“unconditional; unfettered; completed”), perfect passive participle of absolvō (“loosen, set free, complete”), from ab (“away”) + solvo (“to loose”). Influenced in part by Old French absolu. Compare absolve.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)