sublime
Americanadjective
-
elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
-
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
-
supreme or outstanding.
a sublime dinner.
-
complete; absolute; utter.
sublime stupidity.
-
Archaic.
-
of lofty bearing.
-
-
Archaic. raised high; high up.
noun
verb (used with object)
-
to make higher, nobler, or purer.
-
Chemistry.
-
to convert (a solid substance) by heat into a vapor, which on cooling condenses again to solid form, without apparent liquefaction.
-
to cause to be given off by this or some analogous process.
-
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted
-
inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity
-
unparalleled; supreme
a sublime compliment
-
poetic of proud bearing or aspect
-
archaic raised up
noun
-
something that is sublime
-
the ultimate degree or perfect example
the sublime of folly
verb
-
(tr) to make higher or purer
-
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
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Grade 12, List 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
The run is also continuing his sublime form in longer-format matches - this win extending the streak to 28 successive wins in games with 20 or more legs.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
Kerr didn't just break it, he smashed it by nearly half a second, running a simply sublime three minutes 42.66 seconds.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Something else emerges in Mozart, though, beyond the sublime melodies, that Haydn’s music does not anticipate.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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
Calomel is a white powder which sublimes at a low red heat; it is insoluble in water, alcohol and ether.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" by Various
By this method of distillation the arsenic sublimes into the receiver, leaving a residue of iron sulphide in the retort.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
It will be entirely an original,––such a piece of architecture as he himself would have delighted to describe, and the description of which he, and he only, could have sublimed into poetry.
From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by Davidson, John
Collect the sublimed matter, put it again into the sand-bath, and sublime a second time; this process must be repeated five times.
From Witch, Warlock, and Magician Historical Sketches of Magic and Witchcraft in England and Scotland by Adams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
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
His heart throbbed with bliss that was unendurable; sense and intellect and soul and spirit were, as it were, sublimed into one white flame of delight.
From The Secret Glory by Machen, Arthur
Graphite is usually mixed with other pigments, such as red lead and sublimed blue lead, thus serving better as a paint coating.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Gardner, Henry A.
The subliming the mercury is, however, a process injurious to the health.
From Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets by Young, Daniel
The succinic acid is drawn from amber by sublimation in a gentle heat, and rises in a concrete form into the neck of the subliming vessel.
From Elements of Chemistry, In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries by Lavoisier, Antoine
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 Parsons, Eugene
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.
The development of the latent image by mercury subliming was the most marvellous and unlooked-for part of the process, and it was for that all-important thing that Daguerre was entirely indebted to chance.
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.
