Added 6 October 2026

comparative

/kəmˈpæɹətɪv/ adjective

In Latin: comparativus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about comparative at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Of or relating to comparison.
He gave us a comparative example to illustrate how the human mind works.
Using comparison as a method of study, or founded on something using it.
A comparative study between Homo Sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.
Approximated by comparison; relative.
I've passed the test with comparative ease.

The degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb used when comparing two entities in terms of a certain property or a certain way of doing something. In English, the comparative of superiority is formed by adding the suffix -er or the word more (e.g. bigger, more fully); the comparative of equality, by adding the word as (e.g. as big, as fully); the comparative of inferiority, by adding the word less (e.g. less big, less fully).
An adjective or adverb in the comparative degree.
Data used to make a comparison.

From Middle English comparatif, from Middle French comparatif, from Latin comparātīvus, equivalent to comparātus, from comparāre (“to compare”) + -ive, from Latin -īvus.