absolutelyadv.int.

Brit.

/ˈabsəluːtli/,

/ˈabsəljuːtli/,

/ˌabsəˈluːtli/,

/ˌabsəˈljuːtli/, U.S.

/ˈæbsəˌl(j)utli/,

/ˌæbsəˈl(j)utli/ (in sense B. 1)Brit.

/ˌabsəˈluːtli/,

/ˌabsəˈljuːtli/, U.S.

/ˌæbsəˈl(j)utli/

Forms: see absolute adj. and -ly suffix²; also 1600s absolutily.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: absolute adj., -ly suffix².

Etymology: < absolute adj. + -ly suffix². Compare classical Latin absolutē, Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French absolument, Middle French absolutement (1225 in Old French as absoluement), Spanish absolutamente (first half of the 15th cent.), Italian assolutamente (14th cent.).Use of this word as an intensifying adverb or interjection has frequently been criticized by writers on usage.

A. adv.

I. Of manner or degree: completely, perfectly.

a. To the fullest extent; in the highest degree; entirely, wholly, utterly. In later use frequently as simple intensifier.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely, quite, or absolutely

faira1325

quitec1330

full outa1382

straightly1395

absolutely?a1425

quitementa1450

rightc1450

twighta1500

cleara1522

plain1535

flat1577

sincerely1583

clever1664

cleverly1696

sublimely1722

square1862

quaite1864

fucking A1960

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly

allOE

outlyOE

thwert-outc1175

skerea1225

thoroughc1225

downrightc1275

purec1300

purelyc1300

faira1325

finelyc1330

quitec1330

quitelyc1330

utterlyc1374

outerlya1382

plainlya1382

straighta1387

allutterly1389

starkc1390

oultrelya1393

plata1393

barec1400

outrightc1400

incomparablyc1422

absolutely?a1425

simpliciter?a1425

staringa1425

quitementa1450

properlyc1450

directly1455

merec1475

incomparable1482

preciselyc1503

clean?1515

cleara1522

plain1535

merely1546

stark1553

perfectly1555

right-down1566

simply1574

flat1577

flatly1577

skire1581

plumb1588

dead?1589

rankly1590

stark1593

sheera1600

start1599

handsmooth1600

peremptory1601

sheerly1601

rank1602

utter1619

point-blank1624

proofa1625

peremptorily1626

downrightly1632

right-down1646

solid1651

clever1664

just1668

hollow1671

entirely1673

blank1677

even down1677

cleverly1696

uncomparatively1702

subtly1733

point1762

cussed1779

regularly1789

unqualifiedly1789

irredeemably1790

positively1800

cussedly1802

heart1812

proper1816

slick1818

blankly1822

bang1828

smack1828

pluperfectly1831

unmitigatedly1832

bodaciously1833

unredeemedly1835

out of sight1839

bodacious1845

regular1846

thoroughly1846

ingrainedly1869

muckinga1880

fucking1893

motherless1898

self1907

stone1928

sideways1956

terminally1974

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 155^v Þe 3a. quarter [of the mone], fleobotomye is absolutely better [L. melior absolute; Paris alþerbest].

c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 57 Þat raþir and more he be clepid not oonli ‘a wise methafisicien’..but also absolutli and vttirli þus ‘a wise man’.

1555 N. Ridley Brief Declar. Lordes Supper sig. B^v Whether they..do take awaye simplie and absolutly the presence of Christes body & blood, from the Sacrament.

1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. diii^v To whom Nature hath giuen such quicke Circumspection, sharpnes of witt, and Memorie, that they may be very absolutely skillfull in Geometrie.

1602 W. Warner Epitome Hist. Eng. in Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) 389 A prince absolutely valerous and vertuous.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. ii. 37 The Earth is not Absolutely and Geometrically round.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa (new ed.) I. i. i. 77 Many other expressions of his Favour, he honour'd me with, which I have now as absolutely forgotten, as I was then unworthy of them.

a1704 T. Brown 1st Satyr Persius Imitated in Wks. (1707) I. i. 77 Surely, Jack, thou'rt absolutely mad.

1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 84 Rendering our whole government absolutely illegitimate.

1820 W. Scott Monastery I. ii. 94 The glen..was not then absolutely void of beauty.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §10. 66 Escape seemed absolutely impossible.

1905 Baroness Orczy Scarlet Pimpernel xxv. 237 Marguerite, absolutely paralysed with horror, seemed unable even to breathe.

1959 ‘N. Blake’ Widow's Cruise 67 The water's absolutely dreamy. And I bet you're a super swimmer.

1996 D. Brimson & E. Brimson Everywhere we Go ii. 18 Everyone was singing and shouting and when we scored..it was total chaos, absolutely brilliant!

b. In negative constructions: at all, to any extent, whatsoever.

ΚΠ

1565 N. Sanders Supper of Our Lord ii. iv. f. 54 There is absolutely no pure and cleane oblation besides the sacrifice of Christes body and blood.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa III. iv. 393 Knowing as absolutely none knew it but Phraates and I, as that they receiu'd it not from me, I resolu'd it must come from him.

1675 O. Walker Paraphr. Epist. St. Paul 69 Carnal absolutely none are called but the irregenerate.

1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. ii. 43 There is absolutely no bound at all to prophaneness.

1798 C. Palmer (title) A treatise on the sublime science of heliography satisfactorily demonstrating our great orb of light, the sun, to be absolutely no other than a body of ice!

1859 J. S. Mill On Liberty iii. 33/2 That people should do absolutely nothing but copy one another.

1897 Times 17 Mar. 3/4 Is President Kruger able..to control the Raad?—Absolutely not. He is only, after all, a constitutional sovereign.

1907 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 235 There is absolutely no stinting of vivid impressions on first treading Indian soil.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 78/1 America's top authorities confirm there is absolutely no risk with hormonized meat.

1969 J. Singer et al. tr. I. B. Singer Estate i. ix. 120 ‘You believe in God?’ ‘Absolutely not.’ ‘Then who made this swinish world?’

2006 C. Langston Bicoastal Babe xiii. 121 I have absolutely nothing to offer the world, apart from the remote possibility of perpetuating the human race.

2. With exact fidelity to detail; accurately, precisely.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb]

rightlyeOE

righteOE

evenOE

evenlya1225

redlyc1275

justicelya1375

justilya1375

justlya1375

redilya1375

trulya1375

properlya1382

precisec1392

preciselyc1392

truec1392

straitlya1395

leala1400

arightc1405

by linec1420

justlyc1425

featlya1450

rule-righta1450

to the letter?1495

exquisitely1526

evenliklya1530

very1530

absolutely1538

jump1539

just1568

accurately1581

punctually1581

jumplya1586

arights1596

just so1601

plumb1601

compassly1606

nicelya1616

squarely1626

justa1631

adequately1632

mathematicallya1638

critically1655

exquisitively1660

just1665

pointedly1667

faithfully1690

correctlya1704

jus1801

jest1815

jes1851

neat1875

cleanly1883

on the nose1883

smack-dab1892

spot on1920

forensically1974

1538 R. Taverner in tr. Erasmus Sarcerius Common Places of Script. Ep. Ded. sig. A.iiii^v He hathe so compendiously, so absolutely & frutfully handeled all the common places of the chrysten religyon.

1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse To Rdr. sig. Aiii^v I haue not..so absolutely translated euery woorde as it lieth in the prose.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. viii. xlii. 222 Most elegantly and absolutely described by the Poët Virgill.

1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. xxi. 249 This helpes memory..to haue the text most absolutely.

1771 F. Vesey Cases High Court Chancery 2 31 William East intended the will of Goff should be performed absolutely.

1872 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 1871 118 Our numeral ten does not absolutely reproduce the name of the distinguished French critic.

1895 Littell's Living Age 16 Nov. 391/2 An international rail-way ticket, telegraph, sleeping-car, postage stamp, these can be absolutely translated, for the same things pass from land to land.

1939 C. Seymour Notre-Dame Noyen in 12th Cent. i. vi. 86 The values of the mouldings were not all absolutely reproduced.

1988 Christian Sci. Monitor 26 May 1 The piano is a ‘mechanical monster’ whose sound cannot be reproduced absolutely.

3. Conclusively, decisively; categorically; completely.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely or to the end or conclusively

afinec1325

absolutely1550

supernaculum1592

1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. Dvi Definicio, definicion, wherby y^e proper effect of any thynge is declared briefely & absolutely.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 162 To heare, and absolutely to determine.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 208 This shall absolutely resolue you.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 1156 Why didst not thou the Head Command me absolutely not to go.

1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub viii. 157 Whether the System here delivered, was wholly compiled by Jack,..I shall not absolutely determine.

1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. v. 141 Many absolutely deny Deity to the Son.

1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 54 652/1 An Idealist who absolutely denies the existence of an independent material world.

1860 W. Collins Woman in White (new ed.) II. 289 He himself absolutely forbade her, on account of her health, to join us in the bedroom that night.

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xv. 265 I'd wipe the machines off the face of the earth again, and end the industrial epoch absolutely, like a black mistake.

1993 S. Fried in Philadelphia Mag. Apr. 114/1 There is no way to absolutely prove cause and effect.

4. Modifying a noun or noun phrase: in the strictest sense of the word. rare.

ΚΠ

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xv. 145 And not be absolutely a Tyrant.

1860 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 9 Although not absolutely a range of mountains, there was a tract of elevated country.

1879 E. Davidson in Cassell's Techn. Educator I. 163 Not professors in name only, but absolutely professional men of the highest position.

2001 Federal News Service (Nexis) 13 July It's not absolutely a deadline, in other words?

II. Without doubt, condition, or mental reservation.

5. Unreservedly, wholeheartedly, unconditionally.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > [adverb]

trulyOE

boldlyc1175

sickerlyc1275

tristly1340

redelya1375

redilya1375

surelyc1380

tristilyc1380

certainc1384

faithfullyc1384

trustilyc1390

certainlya1400

trustlya1400

undoubtinglyc1400

absolutely?a1425

positivelyc1443

assuredly1508

traist1508

traistfully1508

crousea1525

constantlya1538

resolutely1540

suredly1551

trestly1568

cocksure1579

resolvedly1610

assurantly1619

emphatically1629

decretorily1660

convincedly1812

unmisgivingly1842

solid1937

society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adverb] > without conditions

barelyc1400

purely1420

simply1420

simpliciter?a1425

frankly1582

unreservedly1611

absolutely1644

unconditionally1649

unconditionately1670

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. ii. 220 So graunte I wel forsothe that vicyous folk ben wikkid, but I ne may nat graunten absolutly and symply that thei ben.

1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iv. x. 257 Noon oughte to swere absolutly for a thinge but that by his owne eyen he be sure and certeyn that it is soo.

1591 E. Spenser To Lady Carey in Complaints sig. T2 I haue determined to giue my selfe wholy to you, as quite abandoned from my selfe, and absolutely vowed to your seruices.

1644 F. Quarles Barnabas & Boanerges 145 Though life bee not absolutely granted, yet death is but conditionally threatned.

c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 374 This first and grand promise was absolutely made to all mankind.

1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 69 Tho' absolutely speaking, the promise of the Messias might be fulfilled without it, yet hypothetically it could not.

1770 B. Franklin Cravenstreet Gaz. 25 Sept. in Papers (1973) XVII. 221 Miss Dorothea Blount had made a Vow to marry absolutely him of the two, whose Wife should first depart this Life.

1822 J. T. Bigge Rep. State Colony New S. Wales 119 The unexpired term of transportation of the convict is absolutely remitted to him.

1876 G. Grote Fragm. Ethical Subj. 162 Happiness..consists in the perfect employment and active exercise of virtue: and that absolutely..—not under limitation.

1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love xix. 295 Only on condition that he, her lover, loved her absolutely, with complete self-abandon.

1966 Times 22 Feb. 3/5 The Judge did not find that she had absolutely refused to have sexual relations with him.

2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 24 June ii. 23/4 The rallying cry that turned a popular country singer into one who was absolutely beloved.

6. Actually, in truth; positively, assuredly. (Modifying the statement as a whole.)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in fact, actually

in, of feata1400

in effectc1405

effectually1420

really?a1425

literallyc1429

(by) matter in deed1447

indeed1535

in fact1592

merely1596

de facto1602

essentially1604

in point of fact1628

upon1644

in point of event1650

effectively1652

in matter of fact1709

absolutelya1712

substantially1753

actually1762

positively1800

in actual fact1824

factually1852

as matter of fact1871

fair dinkum1891

dinkum1894

'smatter of fact1922

basically1927

a1712 W. King tr. P. de la Croix Persian & Turkish Tales (1714) I. 131 You fill me with Desire to see the Lady, and I will absolutely go along with you by and by when you go to see her.

1756 Mem. Young Lady of Quality I. ii. 140 What did you think, one certain Day, when M. de St Preuil, finding you alone in Bed, absolutely attempted to undoe your Waistcoat?

1757 W. Franklin Let. in London Chron. 17–20 Sept. 276/2 The whole Story of the Bill's not passing..is absolutely a malicious and notorious Falshood.

1820 W. Irving Legend Sleepy Hollow in Sketch Bk. vi. 96 An old gentleman..parried a musket ball with a small sword, insomuch that he absolutely felt it whiz round the blade, and glance off at the hilt.

1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xi. 234 I saw a place where one of these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover than the form of a hare.

1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xlvii. 432 Three young ladies of the half-breed, absolutely with frocks on.

1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 59 She absolutely embraced him.

1913 J. Conrad Chance i. 19 The idea that I was absolutely going to sea..hadn't got quite into my head yet.

1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby v. 103 Is this absolutely where you live, my dearest one?

1992 J. Sack in E. J. Schroeder Vietnam 18 I identified with them. I absolutely saw everything as they would.

III. Independently, autonomously; not relatively.

7. In absolute terms; without comparison with others; with reference to a fixed standard, rather than to other things of the same kind. Opposed to comparatively or relatively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > condition of being alone > [adverb] > without reference to anything else

nakedlya1425

absolutelyc1443

per se1574

lonely1664

an sich1846

c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 299 (MED) But he first and bifore knowe and juge his owne worþines in godis absolutely, wiþoute refering it to an oþer mannys worþines in godis.

1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 1 Rather erthy, watry, airy, and fyry, than absolutely erth, water, ayre, & fyre.

1593 G. Harvey New Let. Notable Contents sig. A3^v Surely the Onely-wise (for whosoeuer is comparatiuely wise, He is absolutely wise) ordaineth all for the best.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. v. 117 The Globe of the Earth may be considered two waies; either Absolutely in it selfe, or Comparatiuely in respect of the heauenly Bodies.

1651 R. Baxter Plain Script. Proof Infants Church-membership & Baptism 11 Though none be small absolutely, yet many are very small in comparison of greater.

1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. v. 243 The essence of God may be considered either absolutely or relatively.

1795 W. Paley View Evidences Christianity (ed. 3) II. ii. ix. 251 Not only absolutely, but..relatively, in comparison, that is, with those amongst whom they exercise their office.

1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. viii. 169 A series of undulations, in themselves perhaps not absolutely great, but as compared to the plains of St. Fe, real mountains.

1874 J. L. Motley Life John of Barneveld I. i. 8 Somewhat larger resources absolutely, though not relatively, than the Seven Provinces.

1953 Western Polit. Q. 6 194 Both relatively and absolutely, a larger number of sincere objectors were imprisoned on technical grounds than in World War I.

1994 K. Perry Business & European Community vi. 110 Farm incomes were maintained in the 1960s and 1970s but fell both absolutely and in relation to other groups in the 1980s.

8. In a manner detached from other things; without reference to, consideration of, or dependence upon anything external, circumstantial, or accidental.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [adverb] > existing independently

absolutelyc1450

positively1597

abstractedly1656

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [adverb] > without using comparison

simply1599

absolutely1618

c1450 ( J. Walton tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Linc. Cathedral 103) 330 (MED) All absolutely then betideþ it, Noþing compelleth of necessite.

1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere iii. p. clxxxvi Yf he speke of hym absolutley, wythout mencyon of any speache before had wyth hym.

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 67 Of all things then that be in the world, some have their essence and being of themselves absolutely and simply.

1618 Bp. J. Hall Righteovs Mammon 88 Nothing is, nothing liues absolutely, but he; all other things by participation from him.

1686 R. Boyle Free Enq. Notion Nature 384 How great a Difference there may be between a Body consider'd absolutely, or by itself, and the same Body consider'd in such Circumstances, as it may be found in.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Introd. p. iii It cannot but be discerned absolutely as it is in itself.

1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. iii. 145 An object that exists absolutely without any cause, certainly is not its own cause.

1870 Outl. Hamilton's Philos. 170 We cannot think a quality existing absolutely, in or of itself; we are constrained to think it as inhering in some basis, substratum, hypostasis, subject or substance.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith iv. 146 We may say that God exists absolutely, or is the Absolute Being, if we are careful to explain that we oppose ‘absolute’ to ‘dependent’. God alone has being in Himself.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 285/2 Unlike Plato, he [sc. Socrates] recognized no self-beauty..existing absolutely and out of all relation to a percipient mind.

1960 Jrnl. Philos. 57 733 Only God exists in total non-dependence; he alone exists absolutely as sheer unconditioned, self-existent being.

2006 Artforum Internat. (Nexis) 1 Nov. Geneses exist absolutely because the body of truth itself is a genetic composition that occurs in the world.

9. Chiefly Grammar. Without any logical qualification or syntactic dependent; in an absolute construction.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adverb] > without qualification

absolutelyc1525

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adverb] > other specific relations

absolutelyc1525

apo koinou1892

c1525 T. Linacre Rudimenta Grammatices sig. C 3 The ablatiue, whiche cometh after verbes, and without prepositions, is taken absolutely as The serpent bresteth beyng enchaunted.

1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 101 Aliud in the Neuter gender put absolutely.

1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. viii. 82 As Magnitude is by Philosophers taken absolutely for Extension, so also Velocity or Swiftness may be put absolutely for Motion according to Length.

1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) ii. Introd. 85 The middle Venter or Belly termed Thorax the Chest, and by some absolutely Venter.

1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 Misc. Ess. 157 (note) Whenever the word sex is used absolutely and irrelatively, it is always to be understood of the female.

1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1766 I. 282 [Johnson:] You seem to use genus absolutely, for what we call family.

1878 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 9 38 If the preposition be absent, the noun is to be taken absolutely, as defining the verb simply by the expression of the idea.

1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §255 (heading) The Comparative and Superlative used absolutely.

1942 E. Partridge in New Statesman 1 Aug. 75/1 It may be used absolutely..or in reference to a person.

1995 Jrnl. Rom. Stud. 85 125 The verb may be used absolutely in this sense.

10. With unrestricted or unlimited authority or ownership; despotically.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [adverb] > despotically or autocratically

absolutely1549

despotically1681

despoticly?1692

autocratically1772

1549 W. Thomas Hist. Italie f. 131 ^v Nowe he was made gouernour absolutely of the common wealth.

1599 J. Rainolds Overthrow Stage-playes 98 These rules are to bee understoode of those generals that absolutely command.

1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion v. 75 Now Sabrine, as a Queene, miraculouslie faire, Is absolutelie plac't in her Emperiall Chaire.

1660 Trial of the Reg. 11 It is one..thing to have an Imperial Crown and another thing to govern absolutely.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 185 I was not to dispute his Sovereignty, who..had an undoubted Right by Creation to govern and dispose of me absolutely.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 234 A monarchy absolutely and despotically regal.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xi. 84 She ruled absolutely within the rectory, wisely giving her husband full liberty without.

1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. ix. 254 The spear [was] the symbol of property held absolutely and against the world.

1956 Amer. Hist. Rev. 61 645 The clique in control of the organization ruled as absolutely within the party as the party within the country.

1993 Accountancy Oct. 108/3 A pecuniary legacy to be held as to income for the testator's wife for life and thereafter for the three sons absolutely.

2004 S. M. Katz Jihad 16 Leaders ruled absolutely, often with little regard for the welfare and civil rights of their people.

†11. Essentially, fundamentally. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb]

formlyc1374

virtuallya1398

essentially1398

pithily1434

substantial1447

in substance1460

quidditativelyc1600

absolutely1654

constitutionally1766

essential1827

substantively1828

1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. ii. 9 If one part of the Universal Church do separate itself from another part, not absolutely, or in Essentials, but respectively.

12. Mathematics. With regard to the absolute values of component quantities; absolutely convergent adj. (of an infinite series) such that the series of absolute values of its terms converges; (of an integral) such that the integral of the absolute value of the integrand is finite; cf. absolute convergence n. at absolute adj. and n. Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

1814 T. Leybourn Math. Repository New Ser. III. iii. 13 The second [integral] seems, at first, to depend on functions of the third species; but by a very simple substitution, it will be found absolutely integrable by circular arcs, or by logarithms.

1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 537/2 The following expression is absolutely integrable, independently of all relation between x and y, if [etc.].

1884 Ann. Math. 1 51 This is not an allowable formula, for it is not absolutely convergent for any value of z, as may be readily shown.

1916 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 17 395 The elements of the infinite sequence of matrix products..will certainly converge absolutely and uniformly to the elements of a limit matrix if [etc.].

1965 J. W. Dettman Appl. Complex Variables viii. 365 In the Fourier integral theorem we are dealing with functions which are absolutely integrable, that is ʃ∞−∞|f(t)|dt < ∞.

1989 W. Gellert et al. VNR Conc. Encycl. Math. (ed. 2) xviii. 396 The series ∑a_n converges absolutely.

2007 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) (Nexis) 30 Mar. 8 Then came calculus. Such terms as ‘absolutely convergent’ absolutely confused him.

B. int. colloquial.

1. Yes, certainly, definitely; without a doubt.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > affirmation and denial > [adverb] > as an emphatic affirmative

absolutely1825

rather1836

a thousand times, yes1896

definitely1931

deffo1940

damn straight1964

1825 tr. B. de Molleville in A. Thiers & F. Bodin Hist. French Revol. I. 523 ‘Is it permitted me to ask your majesty whether the opinion of the queen is conformable to that of your majesty?’ ‘Yes, absolutely; she will tell you so herself.’

1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre III. xi. 294 ‘Is such really the state of matters between you and Rivers?’ ‘Absolutely, sir!’

1878 H. James Watch & Ward v. 101 ‘And to accept the consequences?’ ‘Absolutely.’

1892 ‘M. Twain’ Amer. Claimant xxiv. 154 ‘Do you mean to say that if he was all right and proper otherwise you'd be indifferent about the earl part of the business?’ ‘Absolutely.’

1917 A. Waugh Loom of Youth iii. i. 154 ‘But, sir, was it true to Harrow life?’ ‘Absolutely; and it's as true to the life of any other Public School.’

1937 R. Stout Red Box ix. 136 ‘I trust that we are still brothers-in-arms?—’ ‘Absolutely. Pals.’

2005 Metal Hammer Dec. 44/2 So you're happy with it, then? ‘Yes, of course. Absolutely.’

2. With an expletive infixed for humorous emphasis, as abso-blessed-lutely, abso-bloody-lutely, abso-blooming-lutely, etc.

ΚΠ

1909 R. E. Beach Silver Horde xi. 147 ‘Did you rustle this money without any help?’ he demanded. ‘Abso-blooming-lutely!’

1912 A. M. N. Lyons Clara xxiv. 265 His Information was abso-blessed-lutely good and all the very latest; right Up-to-Date.

1914 W. L. George Making of Englishman iii. v. 299 Oh, don'tcher care, it's all over, absoballylutely.

1935 E. Weekley Something about Words i. 24 This natural tendency to add body and content to words is possibly prehistoric... A crude example of this persisting instinct is offered by the contemporary abso-bloody-lutely.

1947 Amer. Mercury Feb. 183/1 An Englishman who wishes to be very positive will exclaim, ‘Abso-bloody-lutely!’

1985 D. Bodey F.N.G. 224 ‘Like, don't it seem like the time has gone fast now?’ ‘Abso-fuckin'-lutely.’

1993 Homemaker's Mag. (Toronto) Jan.–Feb. 102/1 Can a pot of tulips, daffodils or hyacinths help banish February funk? Abso-bloomin'-lutely.

2001 F. North Fen xlv. 302 ‘We should celebrate,’ Otter said... ‘Abso-bloody-lutely,’ Matt agreed.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	absolutely
释义	absolutelyadv.int. Brit. /ˈabsəluːtli/, /ˈabsəljuːtli/, /ˌabsəˈluːtli/, /ˌabsəˈljuːtli/, U.S. /ˈæbsəˌl(j)utli/, /ˌæbsəˈl(j)utli/ (in sense B. 1)Brit. /ˌabsəˈluːtli/, /ˌabsəˈljuːtli/, U.S. /ˌæbsəˈl(j)utli/ Forms: see absolute adj. and -ly suffix²; also 1600s absolutily. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: absolute adj., -ly suffix². Etymology: < absolute adj. + -ly suffix². Compare classical Latin absolutē, Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French absolument, Middle French absolutement (1225 in Old French as absoluement), Spanish absolutamente (first half of the 15th cent.), Italian assolutamente (14th cent.).Use of this word as an intensifying adverb or interjection has frequently been criticized by writers on usage. A. adv. I. Of manner or degree: completely, perfectly. 1. a. To the fullest extent; in the highest degree; entirely, wholly, utterly. In later use frequently as simple intensifier. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely, quite, or absolutely faira1325 quitec1330 full outa1382 straightly1395 absolutely?a1425 quitementa1450 rightc1450 twighta1500 cleara1522 plain1535 flat1577 sincerely1583 clever1664 cleverly1696 sublimely1722 square1862 quaite1864 fucking A1960 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly allOE allOE outlyOE thwert-outc1175 skerea1225 thoroughc1225 downrightc1275 purec1300 purelyc1300 faira1325 finelyc1330 quitec1330 quitelyc1330 utterlyc1374 outerlya1382 plainlya1382 straighta1387 allutterly1389 starkc1390 oultrelya1393 plata1393 barec1400 outrightc1400 incomparablyc1422 absolutely?a1425 simpliciter?a1425 staringa1425 quitementa1450 properlyc1450 directly1455 merec1475 incomparable1482 preciselyc1503 clean?1515 cleara1522 plain1535 merely1546 stark1553 perfectly1555 right-down1566 simply1574 flat1577 flatly1577 skire1581 plumb1588 dead?1589 rankly1590 stark1593 sheera1600 start1599 handsmooth1600 peremptory1601 sheerly1601 rank1602 utter1619 point-blank1624 proofa1625 peremptorily1626 downrightly1632 right-down1646 solid1651 clever1664 just1668 hollow1671 entirely1673 blank1677 even down1677 cleverly1696 uncomparatively1702 subtly1733 point1762 cussed1779 regularly1789 unqualifiedly1789 irredeemably1790 positively1800 cussedly1802 heart1812 proper1816 slick1818 blankly1822 bang1828 smack1828 pluperfectly1831 unmitigatedly1832 bodaciously1833 unredeemedly1835 out of sight1839 bodacious1845 regular1846 thoroughly1846 ingrainedly1869 muckinga1880 fucking1893 motherless1898 self1907 stone1928 sideways1956 terminally1974 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 155^v Þe 3a. quarter [of the mone], fleobotomye is absolutely better [L. melior absolute; Paris alþerbest]. c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 57 Þat raþir and more he be clepid not oonli ‘a wise methafisicien’..but also absolutli and vttirli þus ‘a wise man’. 1555 N. Ridley Brief Declar. Lordes Supper sig. B^v Whether they..do take awaye simplie and absolutly the presence of Christes body & blood, from the Sacrament. 1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. diii^v To whom Nature hath giuen such quicke Circumspection, sharpnes of witt, and Memorie, that they may be very absolutely skillfull in Geometrie. 1602 W. Warner Epitome Hist. Eng. in Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) 389 A prince absolutely valerous and vertuous. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. ii. 37 The Earth is not Absolutely and Geometrically round. 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa (new ed.) I. i. i. 77 Many other expressions of his Favour, he honour'd me with, which I have now as absolutely forgotten, as I was then unworthy of them. a1704 T. Brown 1st Satyr Persius Imitated in Wks. (1707) I. i. 77 Surely, Jack, thou'rt absolutely mad. 1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 84 Rendering our whole government absolutely illegitimate. View more context for this quotation 1820 W. Scott Monastery I. ii. 94 The glen..was not then absolutely void of beauty. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §10. 66 Escape seemed absolutely impossible. 1905 Baroness Orczy Scarlet Pimpernel xxv. 237 Marguerite, absolutely paralysed with horror, seemed unable even to breathe. 1959 ‘N. Blake’ Widow's Cruise 67 The water's absolutely dreamy. And I bet you're a super swimmer. 1996 D. Brimson & E. Brimson Everywhere we Go ii. 18 Everyone was singing and shouting and when we scored..it was total chaos, absolutely brilliant! b. In negative constructions: at all, to any extent, whatsoever. ΚΠ 1565 N. Sanders Supper of Our Lord ii. iv. f. 54 There is absolutely no pure and cleane oblation besides the sacrifice of Christes body and blood. 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa III. iv. 393 Knowing as absolutely none knew it but Phraates and I, as that they receiu'd it not from me, I resolu'd it must come from him. 1675 O. Walker Paraphr. Epist. St. Paul 69 Carnal absolutely none are called but the irregenerate. 1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. ii. 43 There is absolutely no bound at all to prophaneness. 1798 C. Palmer (title) A treatise on the sublime science of heliography satisfactorily demonstrating our great orb of light, the sun, to be absolutely no other than a body of ice! 1859 J. S. Mill On Liberty iii. 33/2 That people should do absolutely nothing but copy one another. 1897 Times 17 Mar. 3/4 Is President Kruger able..to control the Raad?—Absolutely not. He is only, after all, a constitutional sovereign. 1907 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 235 There is absolutely no stinting of vivid impressions on first treading Indian soil. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 78/1 America's top authorities confirm there is absolutely no risk with hormonized meat. 1969 J. Singer et al. tr. I. B. Singer Estate i. ix. 120 ‘You believe in God?’ ‘Absolutely not.’ ‘Then who made this swinish world?’ 2006 C. Langston Bicoastal Babe xiii. 121 I have absolutely nothing to offer the world, apart from the remote possibility of perpetuating the human race. 2. With exact fidelity to detail; accurately, precisely. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] rightlyeOE righteOE evenOE evenlya1225 redlyc1275 justicelya1375 justilya1375 justlya1375 redilya1375 trulya1375 properlya1382 precisec1392 preciselyc1392 truec1392 straitlya1395 leala1400 arightc1405 by linec1420 justlyc1425 featlya1450 rule-righta1450 to the letter?1495 exquisitely1526 evenliklya1530 very1530 absolutely1538 jump1539 just1568 accurately1581 punctually1581 jumplya1586 arights1596 just so1601 plumb1601 compassly1606 nicelya1616 squarely1626 justa1631 adequately1632 mathematicallya1638 critically1655 exquisitively1660 just1665 pointedly1667 faithfully1690 correctlya1704 jus1801 jest1815 jes1851 neat1875 cleanly1883 on the nose1883 smack-dab1892 spot on1920 forensically1974 1538 R. Taverner in tr. Erasmus Sarcerius Common Places of Script. Ep. Ded. sig. A.iiii^v He hathe so compendiously, so absolutely & frutfully handeled all the common places of the chrysten religyon. 1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse To Rdr. sig. Aiii^v I haue not..so absolutely translated euery woorde as it lieth in the prose. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. viii. xlii. 222 Most elegantly and absolutely described by the Poët Virgill. 1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. xxi. 249 This helpes memory..to haue the text most absolutely. 1771 F. Vesey Cases High Court Chancery 2 31 William East intended the will of Goff should be performed absolutely. 1872 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 1871 118 Our numeral ten does not absolutely reproduce the name of the distinguished French critic. 1895 Littell's Living Age 16 Nov. 391/2 An international rail-way ticket, telegraph, sleeping-car, postage stamp, these can be absolutely translated, for the same things pass from land to land. 1939 C. Seymour Notre-Dame Noyen in 12th Cent. i. vi. 86 The values of the mouldings were not all absolutely reproduced. 1988 Christian Sci. Monitor 26 May 1 The piano is a ‘mechanical monster’ whose sound cannot be reproduced absolutely. 3. Conclusively, decisively; categorically; completely. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely or to the end or conclusively afinec1325 absolutely1550 supernaculum1592 1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. Dvi Definicio, definicion, wherby y^e proper effect of any thynge is declared briefely & absolutely. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 162 To heare, and absolutely to determine. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 208 This shall absolutely resolue you. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 1156 Why didst not thou the Head Command me absolutely not to go. View more context for this quotation 1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub viii. 157 Whether the System here delivered, was wholly compiled by Jack,..I shall not absolutely determine. 1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. v. 141 Many absolutely deny Deity to the Son. 1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 54 652/1 An Idealist who absolutely denies the existence of an independent material world. 1860 W. Collins Woman in White (new ed.) II. 289 He himself absolutely forbade her, on account of her health, to join us in the bedroom that night. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xv. 265 I'd wipe the machines off the face of the earth again, and end the industrial epoch absolutely, like a black mistake. 1993 S. Fried in Philadelphia Mag. Apr. 114/1 There is no way to absolutely prove cause and effect. 4. Modifying a noun or noun phrase: in the strictest sense of the word. rare. ΚΠ 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xv. 145 And not be absolutely a Tyrant. 1860 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 9 Although not absolutely a range of mountains, there was a tract of elevated country. 1879 E. Davidson in Cassell's Techn. Educator I. 163 Not professors in name only, but absolutely professional men of the highest position. 2001 Federal News Service (Nexis) 13 July It's not absolutely a deadline, in other words? II. Without doubt, condition, or mental reservation. 5. Unreservedly, wholeheartedly, unconditionally. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > [adverb] trulyOE boldlyc1175 sickerlyc1275 tristly1340 redelya1375 redilya1375 surelyc1380 tristilyc1380 certainc1384 faithfullyc1384 trustilyc1390 certainlya1400 trustlya1400 undoubtinglyc1400 absolutely?a1425 positivelyc1443 assuredly1508 traist1508 traistfully1508 crousea1525 constantlya1538 resolutely1540 suredly1551 trestly1568 cocksure1579 resolvedly1610 assurantly1619 emphatically1629 decretorily1660 convincedly1812 unmisgivingly1842 solid1937 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adverb] > without conditions barelyc1400 purely1420 simply1420 simpliciter?a1425 frankly1582 unreservedly1611 absolutely1644 unconditionally1649 unconditionately1670 ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. ii. 220 So graunte I wel forsothe that vicyous folk ben wikkid, but I ne may nat graunten absolutly and symply that thei ben. 1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iv. x. 257 Noon oughte to swere absolutly for a thinge but that by his owne eyen he be sure and certeyn that it is soo. 1591 E. Spenser To Lady Carey in Complaints sig. T2 I haue determined to giue my selfe wholy to you, as quite abandoned from my selfe, and absolutely vowed to your seruices. 1644 F. Quarles Barnabas & Boanerges 145 Though life bee not absolutely granted, yet death is but conditionally threatned. c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 374 This first and grand promise was absolutely made to all mankind. 1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 69 Tho' absolutely speaking, the promise of the Messias might be fulfilled without it, yet hypothetically it could not. 1770 B. Franklin Cravenstreet Gaz. 25 Sept. in Papers (1973) XVII. 221 Miss Dorothea Blount had made a Vow to marry absolutely him of the two, whose Wife should first depart this Life. 1822 J. T. Bigge Rep. State Colony New S. Wales 119 The unexpired term of transportation of the convict is absolutely remitted to him. 1876 G. Grote Fragm. Ethical Subj. 162 Happiness..consists in the perfect employment and active exercise of virtue: and that absolutely..—not under limitation. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love xix. 295 Only on condition that he, her lover, loved her absolutely, with complete self-abandon. 1966 Times 22 Feb. 3/5 The Judge did not find that she had absolutely refused to have sexual relations with him. 2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 24 June ii. 23/4 The rallying cry that turned a popular country singer into one who was absolutely beloved. 6. Actually, in truth; positively, assuredly. (Modifying the statement as a whole.) ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in fact, actually in, of feata1400 in effectc1405 effectually1420 really?a1425 literallyc1429 (by) matter in deed1447 indeed1535 in fact1592 merely1596 de facto1602 essentially1604 in point of fact1628 upon1644 in point of event1650 effectively1652 in matter of fact1709 absolutelya1712 substantially1753 actually1762 positively1800 in actual fact1824 factually1852 as matter of fact1871 fair dinkum1891 dinkum1894 'smatter of fact1922 basically1927 a1712 W. King tr. P. de la Croix Persian & Turkish Tales (1714) I. 131 You fill me with Desire to see the Lady, and I will absolutely go along with you by and by when you go to see her. 1756 Mem. Young Lady of Quality I. ii. 140 What did you think, one certain Day, when M. de St Preuil, finding you alone in Bed, absolutely attempted to undoe your Waistcoat? 1757 W. Franklin Let. in London Chron. 17–20 Sept. 276/2 The whole Story of the Bill's not passing..is absolutely a malicious and notorious Falshood. 1820 W. Irving Legend Sleepy Hollow in Sketch Bk. vi. 96 An old gentleman..parried a musket ball with a small sword, insomuch that he absolutely felt it whiz round the blade, and glance off at the hilt. 1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xi. 234 I saw a place where one of these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover than the form of a hare. 1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xlvii. 432 Three young ladies of the half-breed, absolutely with frocks on. 1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 59 She absolutely embraced him. 1913 J. Conrad Chance i. 19 The idea that I was absolutely going to sea..hadn't got quite into my head yet. 1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby v. 103 Is this absolutely where you live, my dearest one? 1992 J. Sack in E. J. Schroeder Vietnam 18 I identified with them. I absolutely saw everything as they would. III. Independently, autonomously; not relatively. 7. In absolute terms; without comparison with others; with reference to a fixed standard, rather than to other things of the same kind. Opposed to comparatively or relatively. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > condition of being alone > [adverb] > without reference to anything else nakedlya1425 absolutelyc1443 per se1574 lonely1664 an sich1846 c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 299 (MED) But he first and bifore knowe and juge his owne worþines in godis absolutely, wiþoute refering it to an oþer mannys worþines in godis. 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 1 Rather erthy, watry, airy, and fyry, than absolutely erth, water, ayre, & fyre. 1593 G. Harvey New Let. Notable Contents sig. A3^v Surely the Onely-wise (for whosoeuer is comparatiuely wise, He is absolutely wise) ordaineth all for the best. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. v. 117 The Globe of the Earth may be considered two waies; either Absolutely in it selfe, or Comparatiuely in respect of the heauenly Bodies. 1651 R. Baxter Plain Script. Proof Infants Church-membership & Baptism 11 Though none be small absolutely, yet many are very small in comparison of greater. 1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. v. 243 The essence of God may be considered either absolutely or relatively. 1795 W. Paley View Evidences Christianity (ed. 3) II. ii. ix. 251 Not only absolutely, but..relatively, in comparison, that is, with those amongst whom they exercise their office. 1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. viii. 169 A series of undulations, in themselves perhaps not absolutely great, but as compared to the plains of St. Fe, real mountains. 1874 J. L. Motley Life John of Barneveld I. i. 8 Somewhat larger resources absolutely, though not relatively, than the Seven Provinces. 1953 Western Polit. Q. 6 194 Both relatively and absolutely, a larger number of sincere objectors were imprisoned on technical grounds than in World War I. 1994 K. Perry Business & European Community vi. 110 Farm incomes were maintained in the 1960s and 1970s but fell both absolutely and in relation to other groups in the 1980s. 8. In a manner detached from other things; without reference to, consideration of, or dependence upon anything external, circumstantial, or accidental. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [adverb] > existing independently absolutelyc1450 positively1597 abstractedly1656 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [adverb] > without using comparison simply1599 absolutely1618 c1450 ( J. Walton tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Linc. Cathedral 103) 330 (MED) All absolutely then betideþ it, Noþing compelleth of necessite. 1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere iii. p. clxxxvi Yf he speke of hym absolutley, wythout mencyon of any speache before had wyth hym. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 67 Of all things then that be in the world, some have their essence and being of themselves absolutely and simply. 1618 Bp. J. Hall Righteovs Mammon 88 Nothing is, nothing liues absolutely, but he; all other things by participation from him. 1686 R. Boyle Free Enq. Notion Nature 384 How great a Difference there may be between a Body consider'd absolutely, or by itself, and the same Body consider'd in such Circumstances, as it may be found in. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Introd. p. iii It cannot but be discerned absolutely as it is in itself. 1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. iii. 145 An object that exists absolutely without any cause, certainly is not its own cause. 1870 Outl. Hamilton's Philos. 170 We cannot think a quality existing absolutely, in or of itself; we are constrained to think it as inhering in some basis, substratum, hypostasis, subject or substance. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith iv. 146 We may say that God exists absolutely, or is the Absolute Being, if we are careful to explain that we oppose ‘absolute’ to ‘dependent’. God alone has being in Himself. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 285/2 Unlike Plato, he [sc. Socrates] recognized no self-beauty..existing absolutely and out of all relation to a percipient mind. 1960 Jrnl. Philos. 57 733 Only God exists in total non-dependence; he alone exists absolutely as sheer unconditioned, self-existent being. 2006 Artforum Internat. (Nexis) 1 Nov. Geneses exist absolutely because the body of truth itself is a genetic composition that occurs in the world. 9. Chiefly Grammar. Without any logical qualification or syntactic dependent; in an absolute construction. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adverb] > without qualification absolutelyc1525 the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adverb] > other specific relations absolutelyc1525 apo koinou1892 c1525 T. Linacre Rudimenta Grammatices sig. C 3 The ablatiue, whiche cometh after verbes, and without prepositions, is taken absolutely as The serpent bresteth beyng enchaunted. 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 101 Aliud in the Neuter gender put absolutely. 1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. viii. 82 As Magnitude is by Philosophers taken absolutely for Extension, so also Velocity or Swiftness may be put absolutely for Motion according to Length. 1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) ii. Introd. 85 The middle Venter or Belly termed Thorax the Chest, and by some absolutely Venter. 1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 Misc. Ess. 157 (note) Whenever the word sex is used absolutely and irrelatively, it is always to be understood of the female. 1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1766 I. 282 [Johnson:] You seem to use genus absolutely, for what we call family. 1878 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 9 38 If the preposition be absent, the noun is to be taken absolutely, as defining the verb simply by the expression of the idea. 1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §255 (heading) The Comparative and Superlative used absolutely. 1942 E. Partridge in New Statesman 1 Aug. 75/1 It may be used absolutely..or in reference to a person. 1995 Jrnl. Rom. Stud. 85 125 The verb may be used absolutely in this sense. 10. With unrestricted or unlimited authority or ownership; despotically. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [adverb] > despotically or autocratically absolutely1549 despotically1681 despoticly?1692 autocratically1772 1549 W. Thomas Hist. Italie f. 131 ^v Nowe he was made gouernour absolutely of the common wealth. 1599 J. Rainolds Overthrow Stage-playes 98 These rules are to bee understoode of those generals that absolutely command. 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion v. 75 Now Sabrine, as a Queene, miraculouslie faire, Is absolutelie plac't in her Emperiall Chaire. 1660 Trial of the Reg. 11 It is one..thing to have an Imperial Crown and another thing to govern absolutely. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 185 I was not to dispute his Sovereignty, who..had an undoubted Right by Creation to govern and dispose of me absolutely. 1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 234 A monarchy absolutely and despotically regal. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xi. 84 She ruled absolutely within the rectory, wisely giving her husband full liberty without. 1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. ix. 254 The spear [was] the symbol of property held absolutely and against the world. 1956 Amer. Hist. Rev. 61 645 The clique in control of the organization ruled as absolutely within the party as the party within the country. 1993 Accountancy Oct. 108/3 A pecuniary legacy to be held as to income for the testator's wife for life and thereafter for the three sons absolutely. 2004 S. M. Katz Jihad 16 Leaders ruled absolutely, often with little regard for the welfare and civil rights of their people. †11. Essentially, fundamentally. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb] formlyc1374 virtuallya1398 essentially1398 pithily1434 substantial1447 in substance1460 quidditativelyc1600 absolutely1654 constitutionally1766 essential1827 substantively1828 1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. ii. 9 If one part of the Universal Church do separate itself from another part, not absolutely, or in Essentials, but respectively. 12. Mathematics. With regard to the absolute values of component quantities; absolutely convergent adj. (of an infinite series) such that the series of absolute values of its terms converges; (of an integral) such that the integral of the absolute value of the integrand is finite; cf. absolute convergence n. at absolute adj. and n. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1814 T. Leybourn Math. Repository New Ser. III. iii. 13 The second [integral] seems, at first, to depend on functions of the third species; but by a very simple substitution, it will be found absolutely integrable by circular arcs, or by logarithms. 1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 537/2 The following expression is absolutely integrable, independently of all relation between x and y, if [etc.]. 1884 Ann. Math. 1 51 This is not an allowable formula, for it is not absolutely convergent for any value of z, as may be readily shown. 1916 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 17 395 The elements of the infinite sequence of matrix products..will certainly converge absolutely and uniformly to the elements of a limit matrix if [etc.]. 1965 J. W. Dettman Appl. Complex Variables viii. 365 In the Fourier integral theorem we are dealing with functions which are absolutely integrable, that is ʃ∞−∞\|f(t)\|dt < ∞. 1989 W. Gellert et al. VNR Conc. Encycl. Math. (ed. 2) xviii. 396 The series ∑a_n converges absolutely. 2007 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) (Nexis) 30 Mar. 8 Then came calculus. Such terms as ‘absolutely convergent’ absolutely confused him. B. int. colloquial. 1. Yes, certainly, definitely; without a doubt. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > affirmation and denial > [adverb] > as an emphatic affirmative absolutely1825 rather1836 a thousand times, yes1896 definitely1931 deffo1940 damn straight1964 1825 tr. B. de Molleville in A. Thiers & F. Bodin Hist. French Revol. I. 523 ‘Is it permitted me to ask your majesty whether the opinion of the queen is conformable to that of your majesty?’ ‘Yes, absolutely; she will tell you so herself.’ 1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre III. xi. 294 ‘Is such really the state of matters between you and Rivers?’ ‘Absolutely, sir!’ 1878 H. James Watch & Ward v. 101 ‘And to accept the consequences?’ ‘Absolutely.’ 1892 ‘M. Twain’ Amer. Claimant xxiv. 154 ‘Do you mean to say that if he was all right and proper otherwise you'd be indifferent about the earl part of the business?’ ‘Absolutely.’ 1917 A. Waugh Loom of Youth iii. i. 154 ‘But, sir, was it true to Harrow life?’ ‘Absolutely; and it's as true to the life of any other Public School.’ 1937 R. Stout Red Box ix. 136 ‘I trust that we are still brothers-in-arms?—’ ‘Absolutely. Pals.’ 2005 Metal Hammer Dec. 44/2 So you're happy with it, then? ‘Yes, of course. Absolutely.’ 2. With an expletive infixed for humorous emphasis, as abso-blessed-lutely, abso-bloody-lutely, abso-blooming-lutely, etc. ΚΠ 1909 R. E. Beach Silver Horde xi. 147 ‘Did you rustle this money without any help?’ he demanded. ‘Abso-blooming-lutely!’ 1912 A. M. N. Lyons Clara xxiv. 265 His Information was abso-blessed-lutely good and all the very latest; right Up-to-Date. 1914 W. L. George Making of Englishman iii. v. 299 Oh, don'tcher care, it's all over, absoballylutely. 1935 E. Weekley Something about Words i. 24 This natural tendency to add body and content to words is possibly prehistoric... A crude example of this persisting instinct is offered by the contemporary abso-bloody-lutely. 1947 Amer. Mercury Feb. 183/1 An Englishman who wishes to be very positive will exclaim, ‘Abso-bloody-lutely!’ 1985 D. Bodey F.N.G. 224 ‘Like, don't it seem like the time has gone fast now?’ ‘Abso-fuckin'-lutely.’ 1993 Homemaker's Mag. (Toronto) Jan.–Feb. 102/1 Can a pot of tulips, daffodils or hyacinths help banish February funk? Abso-bloomin'-lutely. 2001 F. North Fen xlv. 302 ‘We should celebrate,’ Otter said... ‘Abso-bloody-lutely,’ Matt agreed. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adv.int.?a1425
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