/ kəmˈpærətɪv; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
connected with studying things to find out how similar or different they are :
a comparative study of the educational systems of two countries
comparative linguistics
2.
measured or judged by how similar or different it is to sth else
SYN relative :
Then he was living in comparative comfort (= compared with others or with his own life at a previous time) .
The company is a comparative newcomer to the software market (= other companies have been in business much longer) .
3.
( grammar ) relating to adjectives or adverbs that express more in amount, degree or quality, for example better, worse, slower and more difficult
—compare superlative
■ noun
( grammar ) the form of an adjective or adverb that expresses more in amount, degree or quality :
'Better' is the comparative of 'good' and 'more difficult' is the comparative of 'difficult'.
—compare superlative
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in sense 3): from Latin comparativus , from comparare to pair, match, from compar like, equal, from com- with + par equal.