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:
The sublime setting aside, “A Stranger in Corfu” is also satisfyingly murky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
To capture it, Jeon Do-yeon and Cho Yeo-jeong forged a sublime chemistry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 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
It was another reminder of Pogacar’s sublime talent but also his panache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
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
This acid fuses in the flame of oxidation to a brown liquid, which spreads, volatilizes, and sublimes upon the charcoal as a yellow powder, which appears crystalline in the vicinity of the assay.
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
The delicate paleness of her cheeks, the glance that was sublimed into the sweetest melancholy, made me tremble with unspeakable pleasure.
From Tales from the German Comprising specimens from the most celebrated authors by Various
Look ye that yon frail flower should be sublimed To fruit commensurate with all your power And cunning art?
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864 by Various
Sometimes one does not see the given beauty at first, and then he has the pleasure of puzzling it out; sometimes he never sees it, and then his life is sublimed with an insoluble conundrum.
From Imaginary Interviews by William Dean Howells
Some of the color tests included the priming of boards with white lead, zinc oxide, sublimed white lead, lithopone, and other single pigment paints.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner
Unified paints containing sublimed white lead are of great value, showing upon long exposure very little decay.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner
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 naphtha removes mostly only the phenanthrene, but the carbazol can be removed only by pyridine, or by subliming or distilling the anthracene over caustic potash.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various
Oh, yea, the Sun in one subliming rise From Wisdom's infinite mind!
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Edward Doyle
These piñas are then carefully weighed and put into a subliming furnace, Figs.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 by Various
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 M. M. Pattison Muir
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