Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Sublime?

\Sub*lime"\, a. [Compar. {Sublimer}; superl. {Sublimest}.] [L. sublimis; sub under + (perhaps) a word akin to limen lintel, sill, thus meaning, up to the lintel: cf. F. sublime. Cf. {Eliminate}.] 1. Lifted up; high in place; exalted aloft; uplifted; lofty. Sublime on these a tower of steel is reared. --Dryden. 2. Distinguished by lofty or noble traits; eminent; -- said of persons. ``The sublime Julian leader.'' --De Quincey. 3. Awakening or expressing the emotion of awe, adoration, veneration, heroic resolve, etc.; dignified; grand; solemn; stately; -- said of an impressive object in nature, of an action, of a discourse, of a work of art, of a spectacle, etc.; as, sublime scenery; a sublime deed. Easy in words thy style, in sense sublime. --Prior. Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong. --Longfellow. 4. Elevated by joy; elate. [Poetic] Their hearts were jocund and sublime, Drunk with idolatry, drunk with wine. --Milton. 5. Lofty of mien; haughty; proud. [Poetic] ``Countenance sublime and insolent.'' --Spenser. His fair, large front and eye sublime declared Absolute rule. --Milton. Syn: Exalted; lofty; noble; majestic. See {Grand}.
\Sub*lime"\, n. That which is sublime; -- with the definite article; as: (a) A grand or lofty style in speaking or writing; a style that expresses lofty conceptions. The sublime rises from the nobleness of thoughts, the magnificence of words, or the harmonious and lively turn of the phrase. --Addison. (b) That which is grand in nature or art, as distinguished from the merely beautiful.
\Sub*lime"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sublimed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Subliming}.] [Cf. L. sublimare, F. sublimer to subject to sublimation. See {Sublime}, a., and cf. {Sublimate}, v. t.] 1. To raise on high. [Archaic] A soul sublimed by an idea above the region of vanity and conceit. --E. P. Whipple. 2. (Chem.) To subject to the process of sublimation; to heat, volatilize, and condense in crystals or powder; to distill off, and condense in solid form; hence, also, to purify. 3. To exalt; to heighten; to improve; to purify. The sun . . . Which not alone the southern wit sublimes, But ripens spirits in cold, northern climes. --Pope. 4. To dignify; to ennoble. An ordinary gift can not sublime a person to a supernatural employment. --Jer. Taylor.
\Sub*lime"\, v. i. (Chem.) To pass off in vapor, with immediate condensation; specifically, to evaporate or volatilize from the solid state without apparent melting; -- said of those substances, like arsenic, benzoic acid, etc., which do not exhibit a liquid form on heating, except under increased pressure.