sublime
Americanadjective
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elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
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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
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supreme or outstanding.
a sublime dinner.
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complete; absolute; utter.
sublime stupidity.
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Archaic.
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of lofty bearing.
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Archaic. raised high; high up.
noun
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sublimes
plural
verb (used with object)
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to make higher, nobler, or purer.
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Chemistry.
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to convert (a solid substance) by heat into a vapor, which on cooling condenses again to solid form, without apparent liquefaction.
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to cause to be given off by this or some analogous process.
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verb (used without object)
adjective
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of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted
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inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity
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unparalleled; supreme
a sublime compliment
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poetic of proud bearing or aspect
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archaic raised up
noun
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something that is sublime
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the ultimate degree or perfect example
the sublime of folly
verb
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(tr) to make higher or purer
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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
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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
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Grade 12, List 1
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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:
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
Bonus: my car smelled sublime — minty and fresh — the entire way home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
It was another reminder of Pogacar’s sublime talent but also his panache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Having taken a bathroom break before the second set, a re-energised Gauff returned with more aggression, and she eventually found a way past Muchova on her ninth break point with a sublime cross-court backhand winner.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Few things are more sublime or characteristically human than the crossfertilization of cultures.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Likewise, solid carbon dioxide does not melt at 1 atm pressure but instead sublimes to yield gaseous CO2.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The pentachloride sublimes when warmed and forms an equilibrium with the trichloride and chlorine when heated.
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
Here the warm planet ripens and sublimes The well-baked beauties of the southern climes.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 07 by Sir Walter Scott
Arsenious acid sublimes with great ease in minute octohedral crystals.
Religion has clothed this essential feature in a hundred mythologies and eschatologies, and one has always given place to another, the more sublimed to the more robust.
From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto
It will be entirely an original,––such a piece of architecture as he himself would have delighted to describe, and the description of which he, and he only, could have sublimed into poetry.
From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by John Davidson
It was the philosophy of Plato, sublimed and harmonized by the political circumstances of the times.
From The Cradle of the Christ A Study in Primitive Christianity by Octavius Brooks Frothingham
Poor Titmouse's doubts, hopes, and fears, were rapidly being sublimed into a reverence for Gammon....
From Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Samuel Warren
The sublimed white lead was in fair condition, with very little checking, and offering a fair repainting surface.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner
The subliming the mercury is, however, a process injurious to the health.
From Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets by Daniel Young
Oh, yea, the Sun in one subliming rise From Wisdom's infinite mind!
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Edward Doyle
Children are very fond of attempting experiments in dying, and are very curious about vegetable dyes; but they can seldom proceed for want of the means of boiling, evaporating, distilling, and subliming.
From Practical Education, Volume I by Maria Edgeworth
On a commercial scale it is made by subliming a mixture of common salt and mercuric sulphate: 2NaCl + HgSO4 = HgCl2 + Na2SO4.
From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William McPherson
These piñas are then carefully weighed and put into a subliming furnace, Figs.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 by Various
Definitions 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.
