comparative
[ kuh m-par-uh-tiv ]
/ kəmˈpær ə tɪv /
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.
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RELATED WORDS
provisional, like, equivalent, relative, correlative, approaching, parallel, contingent, analogous, comparable, conditional, connected, corresponding, matching, metaphorical, near, qualified, related, restricted, similar
Nearby words
- compar.,
- comparable,
- comparable worth,
- comparation,
- comparatist,
- comparative advertising,
- comparative anatomy,
- comparative government,
- comparative judgment,
- comparative linguistics
Origin of comparative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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comparative
mid-15c., from Middle French comparatif, from Latin comparativus "pertaining to comparison," from comparat-, past participle stem of comparare (see comparison). Originally grammatical; general sense is from c.1600; meaning "involving different branches of a subject" is from 1670s. Related: Comparatively.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.