Etymology
Origin of sublimity
1520–30; < Latin sublīmitās height, equivalent to sublīm ( is ) sublime + -itās -ity
Explanation
Something that's very beautiful, noble, or excellent has the quality of sublimity. You might be overwhelmed by the magnificence and sublimity of the view you see the first time you visit the Grand Canyon. The noun sublimity describes a characteristic that's a little hard to pin down. When something is sublime, it transcends greatness or beauty for the observer — like a deeply moving film or a transcendent piece of music. So when something is truly wonderful, or someone acts in a truly noble way, it's an example of sublimity. The Latin root, sublimis, means "uplifted, high, or exalted."
Vocabulary lists containing sublimity
The Princess Bride
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Butterfly Yellow
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"Grand Canyon Speech"
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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.
The sublimity of this “Oedipe” is fateful thanks to the festival’s probing new artistic director, Finnish mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025
And probably shorter half-lives than the sublimity past generations found in the technologies of their own day.
From Salon • May 30, 2023
That housewife escaping the flood and Isaiah with his finger in a book: How do we go from pointing out these inspiring details to revealing the sublimity of a masterpiece?
From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2023
She wrote of her willingness to hold nothing back, to mend past rifts, to focus on moments of beauty and to note the sublimity of a life well lived.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2023
The sublimity of self-sacrifice activating the Cheerleaders overwhelmed him.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
