Absolute vs. Superlative: What's the Difference?

Unqualified in extent or degree; total

Of the highest order, quality, or degree; surpassing or superior to all others.

Not limited by restrictions or exceptions

Excessive or exaggerated.

Being fully such; utter

(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being the extreme degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb, as in best or brightest.

Unconstrained by constitutional or other provisions

Something of the highest possible excellence.

Not mixed; pure

The highest degree; the acme.

Not to be doubted or questioned; positive

The superlative degree.

Of, relating to, or being a word, phrase, or construction that is isolated syntactically from the rest of a sentence, as the referee having finally arrived in The referee having finally arrived, the game began.

An adjective or adverb expressing the superlative degree, as in brightest, the superlative of the adjective bright, or most brightly, the superlative of the adverb brightly.

Of, relating to, or being a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated. For example, inspires in We have a teacher who inspires is an absolute verb.

The extreme (e.g. highest, lowest, deepest, farthest, etc) extent or degree of something.

Of, relating to, or being an adjective or pronoun that stands alone when the noun it modifies is being implied but not stated. For example, in Theirs were the best, theirs is an absolute pronoun and best is an absolute adjective.

(grammar) The form of an adjective that expresses which of several items has the highest degree of the quality expressed by the adjective; in English, formed by appending "-est" to the end of the adjective (for some short adjectives only) or putting "most" before it.

Relating to measurements or units of measurement derived from fundamental units of length, mass, and time.

(informal) An adjective used to praise something exceptional.

Relating to absolute temperature.

Exceptionally good; of the highest quality; superb.

(Law) Complete and unconditional; final

(grammar) Of or relating to a superlative.

Something that is absolute.

Lifted up to the highest degree; most eminent; surpassing all other; supreme; as, superlative wisdom or prudence; a woman of superlative beauty; the superlative glory of the divine character.

Something regarded as the ultimate and transcendent basis of all thought and being. Used with the.

Expressing the highest or lowest degree of the quality, manner, etc., denoted by an adjective or an adverb. The superlative degree is formed from the positive by the use of -est, most, or least; as, highest, most pleasant, least bright.

Something regarded as exceeding or transcending everything else to the point of being independent and unrelated.

That which is highest or most eminent; the utmost degree.

Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.

The superlative degree of adjectives and adverbs; also, a form or word by which the superlative degree is expressed; as, strongest, wisest, most stormy, least windy, are all superlatives.

Unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks; (legally) unlimited in power, especially if despotic.

An exaggerated expression (usually of praise);

Free from imperfection, perfect, complete; especially, perfectly embodying a quality in its essential characteristics or to its highest degree.

The highest level or degree attainable;

Pure, free from mixture or adulteration; unmixed.

The superlative form of an adjective;

Complete, utter, outright; unmitigated, not qualified or diminished in any way.

Highest in quality

Positive, certain; unquestionable; not in doubt.

(archaic) Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty (e.g. a person, opinion or prediction).

Fundamental, ultimate, intrinsic; not relative; independent of references or relations to other things or standards.

(physics) Independent of arbitrary units of measurement, standards, or properties; not comparative or relative.

Having reference to or derived in the simplest manner from the fundamental units of mass, time, and length.

Relating to the absolute temperature scale (based on absolute zero); kelvin.

(grammar) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence; not in a syntactical relation with other parts of a text, or qualifying the text as a whole rather than any single word in it, like "it being over" in "it being over, she left".

(of a case form) Syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence in an atypical manner, or not relating to or depending on it, like in the nominative absolute or genitive absolute, accusative absolute or ablative absolute.

(of an adjective or possessive pronoun) Lacking a modified substantive, like "hungry" in "feed the hungry".

Expressing a relative term without a definite comparison, like "older" in "an older person should be treated with respect".

Positive; not graded (not comparative or superlative).

(of a usually transitive verb) Having no direct object, like "kill" in "if looks could kill".

(of Celtic languages) Being or pertaining to an inflected verb that is not preceded by any number of particles or compounded with a preverb.

(math) As measured using an absolute value.

(math) Indicating an expression that is true for all real numbers, or of all values of the variable; unconditional.

(education) Pertaining to a grading system based on the knowledge of the individual and not on the comparative knowledge of the group of students.

Independent of (references to) other arts; expressing things (beauty, ideas, etc) only in one art.

Indicating that a tenure or estate in land is not conditional or liable to terminate on (strictly) any occurrence or certain kinds of occurrence.

(obsolete) Absolved; free.

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.

(geometry) 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.

The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced; the unity of spirit and nature; God.

(chemistry) A concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes; an alcoholic extract of a concrete.

Loosed from any limitation or condition; uncontrolled; unrestricted; unconditional; as, absolute authority, monarchy, sovereignty, an absolute promise or command; absolute power; an absolute monarch.

Complete in itself; perfect; consummate; faultless; as, absolute perfection; absolute beauty.

Viewed apart from modifying influences or without comparison with other objects; actual; real; - opposed to relative and comparative; as, absolute motion; absolute time or space.

Loosed from, or unconnected by, dependence on any other being; self-existent; self-sufficing.

Capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone; unconditioned; non-relative.

Positive; clear; certain; not doubtful.

Authoritative; peremptory.

Pure; unmixed; as, absolute alcohol.

Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government; as, the case absolute. See Ablative absolute, under Ablative.

In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.

Something that is conceived to be absolute; something that does not depends on anything else and is beyond human control;

Perfect or complete or pure;

Complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers;

Not limited by law;

Expressing finality with no implication of possible change;

Without conditions or limitations;

Not capable of being violated or infringed;