comparative Hear it!

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

comparative Related Forms

com·par′a·tive·ness noun

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.

comparative Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • philology: A course in comparative Celtic philology is available in Part II ( Paper 12 ).
  • anatomy: Biology Comparative Anatomy This is perhaps the bed-rock of most dinosaur science.
  • analysis: The results of comparative analyzes will be ready by the end of December 2000.
  • genomics: The project will perform comparative genomics to identify genes or groups of genes that differ between two specific strains.
  • hybridization: CGH The software module for comparative genome hybridization ( CGH ) analysis is available as an upgrade for Isis.
  • perspective: Among other things this opens the way to comparative perspectives.

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.
  • truly: Ideally, 'a truly comparative natural biology would require inter-planetary travel, which is light-years away ' .
  • broadly: Tho broadly comparative; representing recycling, composting, energy recovery, and land filling; the waste they refer to is categorically different.
  • not: But this is not comparative philology, it is looking for Finnish and Pictish words that are roughly similar in spelling.
  • together: Papers are prepared by EPRC as the basis for discussion at each meeting, bringing together comparative experience from across the EU.
  • often: Research is interdisciplinary and often comparative in its insights to certain key criminal justice issues.

Preposition: in

  • scope: Interdisciplinary and comparative in scope, this text covers agenda setting, and problem definition, policy making, implementation and evaluation.
  • character: With the growing importance of Europe, the analysis of social policy is becoming increasingly international and comparative in character.