Definition:
The basic, uncompared form of an adjective or adverb, as opposed to either the comparative or superlative.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to place"Examples:
- "To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult."
(Plutarch) - "It should be our care not so much to live a long life as a satisfactory one."
(Seneca) - "Animals are such agreeable friends: they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms."
(George Eliot) - "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
(Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina) - "Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example."
(Mark Twain) - "The inspirational value of the space program is probably of far greater importance to education than any input of dollars."
(Arthur C. Clarke) - "Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature."
(Tom Robbins)
Pronunciation: POZ-i-tiv
Also Known As: positive degree, absolute degree
