[ 'absəlu:t ]
■ adjective
1》 not qualified or diminished; total.
↘not subject to any limitation of power: an ~ ruler.
2》 not relative or comparative: ~ moral standards.
3》 Grammar (of a construction) syntactically independent of the rest of the sentence, as in dinner being over, we left the table .
↘(of a transitive verb) used without an expressed object (e.g. guns kill ).
↘(of an adjective) used without an expressed noun (e.g. the brave ).
4》 Law (of a decree) final. See also decree ~ .
■ noun Philosophy a value or principle regarded as universally valid or able to be viewed without relation to other things.
Derivatives
~ness noun
absolutization or absolutisation noun
absolutize or absolutise verb
Origin
ME: from L. absolutus 'freed, unrestricted', from absolvere (see absolve ).