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
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:
Other Stones records contain more classics and better production, but none holds together as well as a whole or comes as close to the sublime as this one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
It’s a movie of sublime sentiment and spiritual richness, with Stewart its earnest, tender heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Instead they stepped up as three goals in a whirlwind first half, before a sublime fourth by Gio Reyna in stoppage time, secured a 4-1 win to ensure a perfect start in Group D.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Nothing is more sublime than transitioning from Jimin’s penetrating vocals of “You know how we do!” on “2.0” directly to the deep reverberations of the ancient bell that soothe and reset.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
The most elegant and sublime of these is a representation of the creation of the universe at the beginning of each cosmic cycle, a motif known as the cosmic dance of Shiva.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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
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 Priestley, Joseph
Know you what it is when anguish, with apocalyptic NEVER, To a Pythian height dilates you, and despair sublimes to power?
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Volume II by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
V. Is it play, when his eyes wander innocent-wild And sublimed with a sadness unfitting a child?
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Volume II by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Hydrochloric acid and sulphuretted hydrogen are likewise plentiful, together with many other substances which, sublimed by the high internal temperature, take a solid form on cooling at the surface.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various
Corroded white lead, sublimed white lead, zinc oxide, and zinc lead are the standard white opaque pigments.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Gardner, Henry A.
It is sublimed and sacrificed on the altar of holy passion.
From The Religious Sentiment Its Source and Aim: A Contribution to the Science and Philosophy of Religion by Brinton, Daniel Garrison
These are vessels of stone or porcelain ware, which adjust to each other over a cucurbit containing the sulphur to be sublimed.
From Elements of Chemistry, In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries by Lavoisier, Antoine
Her powers were maturing, and nobler sentiments were subliming the first heats and rude experiments.
From Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Volume I by Fuller, Margaret
They were constantly distilling, incinerating, subliming, heating, in order that the spirit, or inner kernel of things, might be obtained.
From The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry by Muir, M. M. Pattison
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 Edgeworth, Maria
These piñas are then carefully weighed and put into a subliming furnace, Figs.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 by Various
He gave fairly explicit directions for the preparation, including calcination, boiling, drying, adding sal armoniack, subliming twice.
From Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar, October 14, 1967 by Bodemer, Charles W.
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.
