summum bonum

[ soom-oom boh-noom; English suhm-uhm boh-nuhm ]

/ ˈsʊm ʊm ˈboʊ nʊm; English ˈsʌm əm ˈboʊ nəm /

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noun Latin.

the highest or chief good.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Words nearby summum bonum

summit meeting, summitry, summon, summoned, summons, summum bonum, Sumner, sumo, sump, sump drain, sumph

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use summum bonum in a sentence

This new emotional centre offered the human summum bonum: release from oneself.
The Daughters of Danaus|Mona Caird
He proceeds on the de mortuis nil nisi bonum principle, which I venture to suggest is a very bad principle.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
It had been passed from one to another before we made port that the Hotel Bellevue was the summum bonum of Hati.
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2|Ida May Hill Starr
Summum jus, summa injuria—The Chief Justice—the greatest wrong!
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II)|Charles James Lever

I may be pardoned for using an old saying, since it is true, and to the purpose: Bonum quò communis, eò melius.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals|John Dryden

British Dictionary definitions for summum bonum

summum bonum

/ Latin (ˈsʊmʊm ˈbɒnʊm) /

noun

the principle of goodness in which all moral values are included or from which they are derived; highest or supreme good

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012