Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Superlative |
SuperlativeAdjective1. Highest in quality. Noun1. An exaggerated expression (usually of praise); "the critics lavished superlatives on it". 2. The highest level or degree attainable: "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his profession". 3. The superlative form of an adjective; "`best' is the superlative form of `good'". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "superlative" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
Synonyms: SuperlativeSynonyms: greatest (adj), sterling(a) (adj), acme (n), elevation (n), height (n), peak (n), pinnacle (n), summit (n), top (n). (additional references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In English, the superlative and the comparative are created by inflecting adjectives or adverbs. The structure of a superlative consists normally of the positive stem of the adjective or adverb, plus the suffix -est, or (especially in longer words) the modifier "most" or "least" before the adjective or adverb. It always has the definite article and is completed by "of" or other preposition plus one or more nouns of entities that it surpasses to the highest or greatest degree, such as in "he is the tallest of/in the class", or "the town is the most beautiful of all in the country".
Mention should be made also of the elative, if not an actual separate inflection but the intensified degree of adverbs and adjective; e.g. "I am the greatest", or "she is most beautiful". Intensification in these cases means "really great" or "very beautiful indeed", and is usually used without relating it to other persons, things or entities which a normal superlative does.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Superlative."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Superiority | Supreme, greatest, utmost, paramount, preeminent, foremost, crowning; first-rate; (important), (excellent); unrivaled peerless, matchless; none such, second to none, sans pareil; unparagoned, unparalleled, unequalled, unapproached, unsurpassed; superlative, inimitable facile princeps, incomparable, sovereign, without parallel, nulli secundus, ne plus ultra; beyond compare, beyond comparison; culminating; (topmost); transcendent, transcendental;plus royaliste que le Roi, more catholic than the Pope |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Superlative |
| English words defined with "superlative": best, better ♦ compare ♦ earlier, earliest, Elative ♦ -est ♦ Every now and then ♦ famously ♦ least ♦ most ♦ rare ♦ so far, superlatively ♦ to the highest degree, to the lowest degree ♦ uncommon ♦ yet. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "superlative": Almost, Amazia ♦ Bedreddin' Hassan ♦ Golden Shoe ♦ Most ♦ Round ♦ Square, Swans ... Geese ♦ Very. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Superlative" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. German (superlatives). |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Superlative" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 90.74% of the time. "Superlative" is used about 54 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 90.74% | 49 | 48,677 |
| Noun (singular) | 9.26% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Total | 100.00% | 54 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "superlative": Absolute superlative ♦ superlative degree. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
superlative | 48 |
comparative superlative | 16 |
senior superlative | 10 |
adjective superlative | 9 |
adjective comparative superlative | 7 |
comparative exercise superlative | 4 |
superlative yearbook | 3 |
english superlative | 3 |
high school superlative | 3 |
adjective comparative rule superlative | 2 |
funny superlative | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "superlative"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | suprem (imperial, paramount, supreme), shkallë siperore, më i mirë (best, better, superior), më i lartë (higher, highest, superior, supreme, top, top flight, upper), kulm (acme, apex, bloom, climax, crescendo, crisis, crown, culmination, dead, extremity, flower, heat, height, heyday, meridian, nab, payoff, peak, pink, pinnacle, prime, summit, tiptop, top, vertex, zenith). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مفرط (exaggerated, excess, excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, frightful, immoderate, intemperate, intolerable, overabundant, overmuch, overweening, super, superabundant, superfluous, too much, unconscionable, undue, unqualified, unreasonable, unrestrained), مغالي فيه (super), صيغة التفضيل, رفيع (astral, elevated, fine, great, polite, sublime, supreme, thin), دال على صيغة التفضيل. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | суперлатив, надминаващ всички (transcendent), преувеличение (exaggeration, hyperbole, stretcher), превъзхождащ (exceeding, prepotent, surpassing), превъзходна степен, превъзходен (capital, egregious, excellent, incompatible, nailing, pre eminent, rare, super, superb, swell, tiptop, top-hole, topping, transcendent, wizard). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 綦 (dark gray, variegated), 最好 (BEST, finest, Nicest). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | superlativní, superlativ, vynikající (accomplished, amazing, beautiful, champion, chance, delicious, egregious, eminent, excellent, exquisite, fine, magnificent, notable, outstanding, preeminent, prize, prominent, star, sterling, wonderful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | مبالغه امیز, عالی (Beautiful, Brave, Capital, Excellent, Exquisite, Famous, Fine, Gallant, High, Immense, Knockout, Lofty, Much, Palmary, Remarkable, Ripping, Spiffy, Splendid, Super, Superb, Supreme, Swank, Unrivaled), افضل (Supreme, Trancscendent), درجه عالی , بیشترین (Maximum, Most, Utmost, Uttermost), بالاترین (Maximum, Topmost, Upmost, Uppermost). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | superlatiivi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | suprême (supreme), superlatif, sans pareil (surpassing). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Superlativ, hervorragend (beautiful, beautifully, brilliant, bully, conspicuous, distinguished, eminent, excellent, excellently, jutting, magnificent, magnificently, outstanding, outstandingly, pre eminent, preeminent, pre-eminently, projecting, protruding, salient, saliently, splendid, splendidly, superb, superbly, superior, surpassing, surpassingly, transcendent, vintage). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | υπερθετικόσ (superiative). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מופל' (distant, extreme, prominent, remote), עלאי (sublime, superior, supreme). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | legfelsõ (paramount, top, upmost, uppermost), felsõfokú melléknév, felsõfokú, felsõfok. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | terunggul. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | superlativo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 最上級 (highest grade, superlative degree), 名訳 (superlative translation), 天下の景 (superlative view). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | さいじょうきゅう (highest grade, superlative degree), めいやく (covenant, effective or well-known medicine, oath, pact, pledge, superlative translation), て"かのけい (superlative view). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | sur-vie, sur-cheimagh, sur-cheim. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | uperlativesay superlativo. (various references) superlativ, eminent (conspicuous, distinguished, eminent, excellent, great, outstanding, remarkable). (various references) высочайший (split-hair), величайший (greatest), превосходный (admirable, bang-up, beautiful, capital, clinking, divine, excellent, fine, grand, groovy, hunky-dory, jim-dandy, nailing, once-stellar, palmary, posh, prime, smashing, spanking, superb, surpassing, tiptop, top-hole, topnotch, top-notch, transcendent, unexceptionable, unexceptional), превосходная степень. (various references) superlativ, u superlativu, nenadmašan (immense, unimprovable, unsurpassed), najviši stepen. (various references) superlativo. (various references) superlativ, strålande (beaming, brilliant, effulgent, fulgent, irradiant, luminous, resplendent, topping), ypperlig (excellent, exellent). (various references) mükemmel (accomplished, all around, alpha plus, ambrosial, bang up, banner, beyond praise, bully, capital, champion, classic, classical, classy, commanding, complete, consummate, cool, copybook, Dandy, dreamy, elegant, excellent, famous, famously, faultless, fine, finished, first class, great, immense, jolly good, no mean, par excellence, perfect, ripping, scrumptious, slap up, smashing, smooth, solid, sovereign, spiffing, spiffy, splendid, splendiferous, super, superb, that takes the cake, the dandy, thorough, thoroughgoing, tiptop, to a turn, to the nines, topping, triumphant, unique), enüstünlük derecesi (superlative degree), en yüksek miktar, en yüksek (crowning, highest, maximum, paramount, record high, supreme, top, ultimate, utmost), en üstün derece, en üstün (highest, supreme). (various references) кульмінаційний пункт (acme, blow off, climax), вершина (altitude, apex, nab, pinnacle, spur, sublime, summit, vertex), найвизначніший, перебільшений (colored, coloured, exaggerated, exaggerative, hyperbolic, hyperbolical, outre, overdone, tall). (various references) thể tuyệt đối, độ tuyệt đối. (various references) eithaf (antipodes, extreme, quite, utmost). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | superlativus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "superlative": superlatively, superlativeness, superlativenesses, superlatives. (additional references) | |
| |
"Superlative" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: superblative, superlatif, superlatiye, supperlative, suppurative. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "superlative" (pronounced suhper"lutiv) |
| 5 | -l u t i v | contemplative, cumulative, expletive, noncumulative, relative, speculative. |
| 4 | -u t i v | accusative, acquisitive, additive, affirmative, alliterative, alternative, anticompetitive, argumentative, causative, cognitive, commemorative, communicative, comparative, competitive, consecutive, conservative, consultative, curative, decorative, definitive, degenerative, demonstrative, derivative, diminutive, dispositive, duplicative, evocative, executive, exploitative, Federative, figurative, fixative, formative, fugitive, generative, hypersensitive, illustrative, imaginative, imperative, indicative, infinitive, informative, initiative, inoperative, inquisitive, insensitive, interpretive, intuitive, laxative, lucrative, narrative, negative, neoconservative, noncompetitive, nonexecutive, normative, nutritive, operative, palliative, participative, pejorative, positive, prerogative, preservative, preventative, primitive, prohibitive, provocative, punitive, putative, recuperative, remunerative, rep, repetitive, representative, restorative, secretive, sedative, sensitive, talkative, tentative, ultraconservative, uncompetitive, uncooperative, unimaginative, uninformative, unrepresentative, vituperative. |
| 3 | -t i v | abortive, accommodative, accumulative, active, adaptive, addictive, adjective, administrative, adoptive, affective, appointive, appreciative, assaultive, assertive, attentive, attractive, authoritative, automotive, captive, collaborative, collective, combative, conductive, congestive, connective, constructive, contraceptive, cooperative, corrective, corruptive, counterproductive, creative, deceptive, defective, deliberative, descriptive, destructive, detective, digestive, dilutive, directive, disincentive, disparages, disruptive, dissipative, distinctive, distributive, effective, elective, elucidative, eruptive, exhaustive, exploitive, facultative, festive, furtive, hyperactive, imitative, inactive, inattentive, incentive, ineffective, infective, injunctive, innovative, instinctive, instructive, interactive, introspective, invective, inventive, investigative, irrespective, iterative, legislative, locomotive, manipulative, meditative, motive, native, nonautomotive, nonnative, nonproductive, objective, obstructive, octave, overactive, perceptive, perspective, photoconductive, plaintive, predictive, preemptive, presumptive, preventive, proactive, probative, productive, prognosticative, projective, prospective, protective, qualitative, quantitative, radioactive, reactive, receptive, reconstructive, redemptive, redistributive, reflective, refractive, regulative, rehabilitative, reproductive, respective, restive, restrictive, retroactive, retrospective, seductive, selective, stimulative, subjective, substantive, suggestive, superconductive, supportive, unattractive, unproductive, unreceptive, vegetative, vindictive. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-i-l-p-r-s-t-u-v" | |
-2 letters: eluviates, eruptives, levirates, livetraps, pearliest, pearlites, prelusive, pulverise, relatives, repulsive, versatile. | |
-3 letters: ateliers, earliest, elatives, eluviate, epaulets, epistler, eruptive, espalier, leariest, leaviest, levirate, livetrap, parietes, pearlite, peltries, perlites, petrales, pilaster, plaister, plaiters, plausive, pleasure, pleaters, prelates, prelives, prevails, privates, realties, relative, replates, reptiles, resalute, revalues, rivulets, spirulae, stipular, superlie, uralites, vaulters, vaultier. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-e-i-l-p-r-s-t-u-v" | |
+1 letter: superlatives. | |
+2 letters: superlatively. | |
+3 letters: superelevating, superelevation. | |
+4 letters: overspeculating, overspeculation, predevaluations, superelevations, superlativeness. | |
+5 letters: overspeculations, ultraprogressive. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Expressions 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
