comparative

[ kuh m-par-uh-tiv ]
/ kəmˈpær ə tɪv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR comparative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to comparison.
proceeding by, founded on, or using comparison as a method of study: comparative anatomy.
estimated by comparison; not positive or absolute; relative: a comparative newcomer in politics; to live in comparative luxury.
Grammar. being, noting, or pertaining to the intermediate degree of the comparison of adjectives, as better and more beautiful, the comparative forms of good and beautiful, and of adverbs, as nearer and more carefully, the comparative forms of near and carefully.Compare positive(def 21), superlative(def 2).

noun Grammar.

the comparative degree.
a form in the comparative.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of comparative

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin comparātīvus, equivalent to comparāt(us) (past participle of comparāre to compare; see -ate1) + -īvus -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM comparative

com·par·a·tive·ly, adverbcom·par·a·tive·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH comparative

comparable comparative

Words nearby comparative

company woman, compar., comparable, comparable worth, comparatist, comparative, comparative advertising, comparative anatomy, comparative government, comparative judgment, comparative linguistics
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to comparative

provisional, like, equivalent, relative, correlative, approaching, parallel, contingent, analogous, comparable, conditional, connected, corresponding, matching, metaphorical, near, qualified, related, restricted, similar

Example sentences from the Web for comparative

British Dictionary definitions for comparative

comparative
/ (kəmˈpærətɪv) /

adjective

denoting or involving comparisoncomparative literature
judged by comparison; relativea comparative loss of prestige
grammar denoting the form of an adjective that indicates that the quality denoted is possessed to a greater extent. In English the comparative form of an adjective is usually marked by the suffix -er or the word moreCompare positive (def. 10), superlative (def. 2)

noun

the comparative form of an adjective

Derived forms of comparative

comparatively, adverbcomparativeness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for comparative

comparative

A form of an adjective indicating a greater degree of the quality that the adjective describes. Better is the comparative form of good; faster is the comparative form of fast; bluer is the comparative form of blue; more charming is the comparative form of charming. (Compare superlative.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.