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comparative definition

com·para·tive (kəm par′ə tiv)

adjective

  1. that compares; involving comparison as a method, esp. in a branch of study comparative linguistics
  2. estimated by comparison with something else; relative a comparative success
  3. Gram. designating or of the second degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs; expressing a greater degree of a quality or attribute than that expressed in the positive degree: usually indicated by the suffix -er (harder) or by the use of more with the positive form (more honest)

Etymology: ME < L comparativus

noun

  1. Obsolete a rival
  2. Gram.
    1. the comparative degree
    2. a word or form in this degree

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

comparative Synonyms

comparative

modif.

comparable, relative, correlative, corresponding, connected, metaphorical, allusive, similar, analogous, parallel, contrastive, near, close to, approaching, in proportion, matching, rivaling, vying, not positive, not absolute, with reservations, approximate, contingent, restricted, inconclusive, provisional, qualified; see also conditional, like, related 2.

Antonyms absolute*, exact*, unrelated*, dissimilar.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

comparative Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • philology: A course in comparative Celtic philology is available in Part II ( Paper 12 ).

Modifying Another Word

  • genuinely: But data are only genuinely comparative if the whole process is grounded in shared understandings of the purpose and meaning of questions.

Preposition: in

  • scope: Interdisciplinary and comparative in scope, this text covers agenda setting, and problem definition, policy making, implementation and evaluation.
comparative usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"comparative." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/comparative>

APA Style

comparative. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/comparative

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