sublime
Americanadjective
-
elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
-
impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power; inspiring awe, veneration, etc..
Switzerland has sublime scenery.
- Synonyms:
- majestic, imposing, resplendent, gorgeous, grand, august, superb, magnificent
-
supreme or outstanding.
a sublime dinner.
-
complete; absolute; utter.
sublime stupidity.
-
Archaic.
-
of lofty bearing.
-
-
Archaic. raised high; high up.
noun
-
sublimes
plural
verb (used with object)
-
to make higher, nobler, or purer.
-
Chemistry.
-
to convert (a solid substance) by heat into a vapor, which on cooling condenses again to solid form, without apparent liquefaction.
-
to cause to be given off by this or some analogous process.
-
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted
-
inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity
-
unparalleled; supreme
a sublime compliment
-
poetic of proud bearing or aspect
-
archaic raised up
noun
-
something that is sublime
-
the ultimate degree or perfect example
the sublime of folly
verb
-
(tr) to make higher or purer
-
to change or cause to change directly from a solid to a vapour or gas without first melting
to sublime iodine
many mercury salts sublime when heated
-
to undergo or cause to undergo this process followed by a reverse change directly from a vapour to a solid
to sublime iodine onto glass
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sublime
First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the noun and adjective) from Latin sublīmis “high,” equivalent to sub- sub- + an element of uncertain origin, variously identified with līmen “lintel, threshold” or līmus “askew, aslant”; (for the verb) ultimately derivative of sublīmis
Explanation
In common use, sublime is an adjective meaning "awe-inspiringly grand, excellent, or impressive," like the best chocolate fudge sundae you've ever had. You might describe a spine-tingling piece of music as "a work of sublime beauty." With the, the word also functions as a noun meaning "something that strikes the mind with a sense of grandeur or power": "Never need an American look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery," wrote Washington Irving. The beauty of music or nature can be awe-inspiring, but sublime is also useful for describing everything from an impressive serve in tennis to a jaw-droppingly good taste sensation.
Vocabulary lists containing sublime
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Grade 12, List 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However, the right-hander has made a sublime start to his one-day international career, averaging almost 59 from 17 matches.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Thank you to my sublime companion Min Ah. I love you, Min Ah. You are an angel.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Douglas Keeve’s sublime 1995 documentary, “Unzipped,” follows Mizrahi in the aftermath of a train wreck, piecing his reputation back together with his next collection, attempting to make something beautiful from the rubble.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
It was another reminder of Pogacar’s sublime talent but also his panache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Few things are more sublime or characteristically human than the crossfertilization of cultures.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The pentachloride sublimes when warmed and forms an equilibrium with the trichloride and chlorine when heated.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Likewise, solid carbon dioxide does not melt at 1 atm pressure but instead sublimes to yield gaseous CO2.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Dry ice does not melt to a liquid but sublimes directly from the solid state to vapor.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lead, or its chloride, sublimes like tellurium, and, like that substance, fuses into globules or drops.
In a strong heat, and in close vessels, this metal sublimes.
From Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry by Joseph Priestley
Hydrochloric acid and sulphuretted hydrogen are likewise plentiful, together with many other substances which, sublimed by the high internal temperature, take a solid form on cooling at the surface.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various
Sometimes one does not see the given beauty at first, and then he has the pleasure of puzzling it out; sometimes he never sees it, and then his life is sublimed with an insoluble conundrum.
From Imaginary Interviews by William Dean Howells
These are vessels of stone or porcelain ware, which adjust to each other over a cucurbit containing the sulphur to be sublimed.
From Elements of Chemistry, In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries by Antoine Lavoisier
A considerable portion of the caffein is sublimed off during roasting, thus decreasing the amount in the bean.
From All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers
It is manufactured by heating a mixture of mercurous sulphate and common salt in iron retorts, and condensing the sublimed calomel in brick chambers.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" by Various
He gave fairly explicit directions for the preparation, including calcination, boiling, drying, adding sal armoniack, subliming twice.
From Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar, October 14, 1967 by Charles W. Bodemer
Oh, yea, the Sun in one subliming rise From Wisdom's infinite mind!
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Edward Doyle
I shall rise from the alembic a saint of their own subliming!
From Anna St. Ives by Thomas Holcroft
But I believe he is chiefly meditating on the purging and subliming of what he has already done: and repents that he has published at all yet.
From Letters of Edward FitzGerald in two volumes, Vol. 1 by William Aldis Wright
She herself says"—and poor Louisa's complaint grew into pathos under the subliming force of her advocate's sympathy—"that she would be like a widow, and worse than a widow.
From The Perpetual Curate by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
