Definition:
An adjective, such as "supreme" or "infinite," with a meaning that is generally not capable of being intensified or compared. See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "unrestricted" + "to throw"Examples and Observations:
- "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, . . .."
(Preamble to the U.S. Constitution) - "In a world of prayer, we are all equal in the sense that each of us is a unique person, with a unique perspective on the world, a member of a class of one."
(W. H. Auden) - "If one wishes to niggle, almost any adjective can be regarded as an absolute. But common sense tells us to avoid any such binding position. The proper course is to respect the absoluteness of words that become ridiculous if comparative or superlative degrees are attached to them. . . . A list of such words could be quite short: equal, eternal, fatal, final, infinite, perfect, supreme, total, unanimous, unique, and probably absolute itself."
(Theodore Bernstein, Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins, 1971) - "'Toad Hall,' said the Toad proudly, 'is an eligible self-contained gentleman's residence, very unique,'"
(Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows) - "Certain adjectives denote meanings that are absolute in nature: unique, round, square, perfect, single, double. They can fill both the attributive and predicate slots, but they generally cannot be qualified or compared. We can, of course, say 'almost perfect' or 'nearly square,' but most writers avoid 'more perfect' or 'very perfect.' In the case of unique, it has come to mean 'rare' or 'unusual,' in which case 'very unique' would be comparable to 'very unusual.' However, given the historical meaning 'one of a kind,' the qualified 'very unique' makes no sense."
(Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, Allyn and Bacon, 1998)
Pronunciation: AB-se-loot ADD-jek-tiv
Also Known As: incomparable, ultimate, absolute modifier
