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Meaning & use

sublime

adjective·Advanced

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UK/səˈblaɪm/
US/səˈblaɪm/

Meanings

  1. adjectivenot comparableliterary

    So excellent, beautiful, powerful, or grand that it inspires deep admiration, wonder, or awe.

    Grammar: Usually no -er/-est: say truly sublime, not more sublime in careful writing. Often before a noun or after be.

    Patterns

    • sublime beauty
    • a sublime view
    • the sublime power of nature
    • rise to the sublime

    The mountain light at sunrise was almost sublime.

    Her performance moved the audience from admiration to something near the sublime.

    The symphony ends in a sublime calm.

  2. adjectivenot comparablehumorous

    Used ironically for something absurdly complete, indifferent, or bad; common in the phrase from the sublime to the ridiculous.

    Grammar: Mostly fixed phrases; the irony depends on context, often shown by tone or quotation marks.

    Patterns

    • from the sublime to the ridiculous
    • sublime indifference
    • sublime ignorance

    The meeting went from the sublime to the ridiculous in ten minutes.

    He listened with sublime indifference to the alarm.

    Her sublime ignorance of the rules was almost impressive.

Common combinations

sublime beauty
Photographs rarely capture the sublime beauty of the canyon.
from the sublime to the ridiculous
The keynote shifted from the sublime to the ridiculous after the slideshow failed.
sublime indifference
The cat watched the chaos with sublime indifference.
the sublime
Romantic poets often wrote about nature and the sublime.

Synonyms and how they differ

magnificent
Stresses splendid grandeur and impressive scale; more common in everyday praise than awe-filled sublime.
transcendent
Means rising beyond ordinary limits; stronger and more abstract, often spiritual or philosophical.
superb
Means excellent of its kind; admiring but without the overwhelming awe suggested by sublime.

Opposites

ridiculousmediocrebase

Word family

sublimely adverb
In a sublime way; often ironic: sublimely unaware.
sublimity noun
The quality of being sublime; formal or literary.

Commonly confused: sublime or subliminal?

sublime vs subliminal

Subliminal means below the level of conscious awareness, such as a subliminal message; it is not a stronger form of sublime.

Practice

Choose the best word: The critics praised the final movement as almost ___, beyond ordinary beauty.

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