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:
“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
In return, he left us a sublime body of work, one that languished in astonishing critical neglect until the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, the result of a dwindling taste for monastic and devotional art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Its sublime sweeping curve is the terse expression of a complex thought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Not everything in a “Jackass” movie needs to be that sublime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Still, that afternoon, that moment, when that first molecule pierced her skin, was the beginning of our connection, one that led me into a darkness that was as twisted as it was sublime.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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
It melts at 235–7° C. and sublimes completely at 178° C., though the sublimation starts at 120°.
From All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers
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
The corroded white lead was somewhat whiter than the sublimed white lead, but a careful observation of the surface of the corroded lead revealed deep checking.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner
This early design embodying Blake’s favourite conception was destined to be enlarged and sublimed into one of the most magnificent inventions of Christian Art.
From William Blake A Study of His Life and Art Work by Irene Langridge
How many common men have not female society and the fervour of youthful passion sublimed into poets!
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 4 by Various
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
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
Oh, yea, the Sun in one subliming rise From Wisdom's infinite mind!
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Edward Doyle
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
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
These piñas are then carefully weighed and put into a subliming furnace, Figs.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 by Various
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
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.
