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sublime

American  

[suh-blahym] / səˈblaɪm /

adjective

1. elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.

   Synonyms:

   noble, exalted

2. 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

3. supreme or outstanding.

   a sublime dinner.

4. complete; absolute; utter.

   sublime stupidity.

5. Archaic.

   1. of lofty bearing.

   2. haughty.

6. Archaic. raised high; high up.

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noun

• sublimes
  plural

1. the sublime,

   1. the realm of things that are sublime.

      the sublime in art.

   2. the quality of being sublime.

      the sublime of nature.

   3. the greatest or supreme degree.

verb (used with object)

sublimed, subliming

1. to make higher, nobler, or purer.

2. Chemistry.

   1. to convert (a solid substance) by heat into a vapor, which on cooling condenses again to solid form, without apparent liquefaction.

   2. to cause to be given off by this or some analogous process.

verb (used without object)

sublimed, subliming

1. Chemistry. to volatilize from the solid state to a gas, and then condense again as a solid without passing through the liquid state.

sublime British  

/ səˈblaɪm /

adjective

1. of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted

2. inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity

3. unparalleled; supreme

   a sublime compliment

4. poetic of proud bearing or aspect

5. archaic raised up

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noun

1. something that is sublime

2. the ultimate degree or perfect example

   the sublime of folly

verb

1. (tr) to make higher or purer

2. 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

3. 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

• sublimeness
  noun
• sublimer
  noun
• sublimity
  noun
• unsublimed
  adjective
• sublimely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sublimes
  plural

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sublime sublimes sublimed subliming

Morgan Rogers: A surprisingly anonymous start and struggled in the number nine position until he was given the chance to run at United's defence, scoring with a sublime dink in the 50th minute.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

All of which goes to underline the main takeaway - the sublime quality of Antonelli's drive.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 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

“When the final whistle blew in the semifinal, I felt like I’d written my name into soccer history by representing my country. It was one of the most sublime moments of my career.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

This, you must understand, Octavian, is the true and sublime end of discipline: that you may rise into a new and glorious buoyancy.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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

In close vessels it wholly sublimes, but burns with a small flame in pure air.

From Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry by Joseph Priestley

Heated in an ignition tube with Na2CO3 metallic mercury sublimes, condensing in the upper portion of the tube in minute globules.

From The Elements of Blowpipe Analysis by Frederick Hutton Getman

Graphite is usually mixed with other pigments, such as red lead and sublimed blue lead, thus serving better as a paint coating.

From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner

This important fact attests the length of time during which chemical processes continue after eruptions, and how open fissures may be filled up laterally by mineral matter, sublimed from volcanic exhalations.

From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell

For further purification, it may be sublimed, after having been previously mixed with a little powdered charcoal, or it may be mixed with a small quantity of iodine and heated.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

We never left the ship until after the land wind came from the lofty heights to apprize us, perhaps, that we might risk a visit, without becoming sublimed in perspiration.

From Los Gringos Or, An Inside View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia by H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

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

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

Her powers were maturing, and nobler sentiments were subliming the first heats and rude experiments.

From Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Volume I by Margaret Fuller

That end will not be attained by our authors by subliming Religion into an emotion, and making an armistice with Science.

From Inspiration and Interpretation Seven Sermons Preached Before the University of Oxford by John William Burgon

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 Tennyson's Life and Poetry And Mistakes Concerning Tennyson by Eugene Parsons

The development of the latent image by mercury subliming was the most marvellous and unlooked-for part of the process, and it was for that all-important thing that Daguerre was entirely indebted to chance.

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by John Werge

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