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:
It was another reminder of Pogacar’s sublime talent but also his panache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Having taken a bathroom break before the second set, a re-energised Gauff returned with more aggression, and she eventually found a way past Muchova on her ninth break point with a sublime cross-court backhand winner.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 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
Cox chipped to mid-wicket, the sublime Blundell brilliantly held a thick edge off Archer and Tongue was caught at mid-on to give Henry a seventh five-wicket haul in Tests.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
His sublime portraits are partly the product of his time with ravenous flies and rotting bodies.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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
This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and sharpens the sagacity of the brute creation.
From The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 by Morley, Henry
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 Getman, Frederick Hutton
Unified paints containing sublimed white lead are of great value, showing upon long exposure very little decay.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Gardner, Henry A.
Like two that had died and found each other, they talked until speech rose into silence—they smiled until the dews which the smiles had sublimed claimed their turn and descended in tears.
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 20, August 1877 by Various
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 Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus)
Love does not cease to be love because it is sublimed to the quintessence of a self-denying passion.
From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by Symonds, John Addington
It is manufactured by heating a mixture of mercurous sulphate and common salt in iron retorts, and condensing the sublimed calomel in brick chambers.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" by Various
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
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 Letters of Edward FitzGerald in two volumes, Vol. 1 by Wright, William Aldis
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
The subliming furnaces are ranged in a row, and communicate by lines of rails with the weigh-house.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 by Various
Oh, yea, the Sun in one subliming rise From Wisdom's infinite mind!
From Freedom, Truth and Beauty by Doyle, Edward
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.
