dictionary

1: a dark bitter oil obtained obtained from wormwood leaves; flavors absinthe liqueurs [syn: {wormwood oil}]

1: perfect or complete or pure; "absolute loyalty"; "absolute silence"; "absolute truth"; "absolute alcohol" [ant: {relative}] 2: complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used info...

1: pure ethyl alcohol (containing no more than 1% water)

1: the maximum altitude at which an airplane can maintain horizontal flight

1: the number of observations in a given statistical category [syn: {frequency}]

1: (astronomy) the magnitude that a star would have if it were viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.62 light years) from the earth

1: (elections) more than half of the votes [syn: {majority}]

1: the ability to identify the pitch of a tone [syn: {perfect pitch}]

1: a temperature scale that defines absolute zero as 0 degrees; water freezes at 273.16 degrees and boils at 373.16 degrees [syn: {Kelvin scale}]

1: physical space independent of what occupies it

1: temperature measured on the absolute scale

1: the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect

1: a numerical value regardless of its sign

1: a measure of the resistance to flow of a fluid under an applied force [syn: {coefficient of viscosity}, {dynamic viscosity}]

1: (cryogenics) the lowest temperature theoretically attainable (at which the kinetic energy of atoms and molecules is minimal); 0 Kelvin or -273.15 Centigrade or -459.67 Fahrenheit

1: completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers; "an absolutely magnificent painting"; "a perfectly idiotic idea"; "you're perfectly right"; "utterly miserable"; "you can be d...

1: the quality of being absolute; "the absoluteness of the Pope's decree could not be challenged"

1: the condition of being formally forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of penance 2: the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance [syn: ...

1: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {tyranny}, {despotism}] 2: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opp...

1: pertaining to the principle of totalitarianism [syn: {absolutistic}] n : one who advocates absolutism

1: pertaining to the principle of totalitarianism [syn: {absolutist}]

1: grant remission of a sin to; "The priest absolved him and told him to say ten Hail Mary's" 2: let off the hook; "I absolve you from this responsibility" [syn: {justify}, {free}] [ant: {blame}]

1: freed from any question of guilt; "is absolved from all blame"; "was now clear of the charge of cowardice"; "his official honor is vindicated" [syn: {clear}, {cleared}, {exculpated}, {exonerated}, ...

1: someone who grants absolution

1: providing absolution [syn: {exonerative}, {forgiving}]

1: become imbued; "The liquids, light, and gases absorb" 2: take up mentally; "he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe" [syn: {assimilate}, {ingest}, {take in}] 3: take up, as of debts or pa...

1: capable of being absorbed or taken in through the pores of a surface [ant: {adsorbable}]

1: a material that has been or is capable of being absorbed

1: wholly absorbed as in thought; "deep in thought"; "that engrossed look or rapt delight"; "the book had her totally engrossed"; "enwrapped in dreams"; "so intent on this fantastic...narrative that s...

1: inducing or promoting absorption [syn: {sorbefacient}]

1: the property of being absorbent [ant: {nonabsorbency}]

1: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up (liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: {absorptive}] [ant: {nonabsorbent}] n : a material having capacity or tendency to absorb anothe...

1: cotton made absorbent by removal of the natural wax

1: a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance [syn: {absorbent}]

1: (physics) material in a nuclear reactor that absorbs radiation

1: capable of arousing and holding the attention; "a fascinating story" [syn: {engrossing}, {fascinating}, {gripping}, {riveting}]

1: a measure of the rate of decrease in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (as light) as it passes through a given substance; the fraction of incident radiant energy absorbed per unit mass or ...

1: (chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid [syn: {soaking up}] 2: (physics) the process in which incident radiated energy...

1: a dark band in the spectrum of white light that has been transmitted through a substance that exhibits absorption at selective wavelengths

1: a measure of the rate of decrease in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (as light) as it passes through a given substance; the fraction of incident radiant energy absorbed per unit mass or ...

1: (physics) the property of a body that determines the fraction of the incident radiation or sound flux absorbed or absorbable by the body [syn: {absorptivity}]

1: an indicator used in reactions that involve precipitation

1: the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that has passed through a medium that absorbed radiation of certain wavelengths

1: a unit for measuring absorption

1: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up (liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: {absorbent}] [ant: {nonabsorbent}]

1: (physics) the property of a body that determines the fraction of the incident radiation or sound flux absorbed or absorbable by the body [syn: {absorption factor}]

1: run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along [syn: {abscond}, {bolt}, {decamp}, {run off}, {go off}]

1: refrain from voting 2: choose no to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" [syn: {refrain}, {desist}] [ant: {consume}]

1: practices self denial as spiritual discipline [syn: {ascetic}] 2: a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages [syn: {abstinent}, {nondrinker}] [ant: {drinker}]

1: sparing in consumption of especially food and drink; "the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious"- John Galsworthy [ant: {gluttonous}] 2: marked by temperance...

1: in a sparing manner; without overindulgence; "he ate and drank abstemiously"; "indulged temperately in cocktails" [syn: {temperately}]

1: restricted to bare necessities 2: moderation in eating and drinking

1: the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) [syn: {abstinence}]

1: self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink; "not totally abstinent but abstemious" [syn: {abstinent}]

1: the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) [syn: {abstention}] 2: act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite

1: self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink; "not totally abstinent but abstemious" [syn: {abstentious}] n : a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages ...

1: existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment; "abstract words like `truth' and `justice'" [ant: {concrete}] 2: not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature; "a la...

1: an abstract genre of art; artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation [syn: {abstractionism}]

1: a painter of abstract pictures [syn: {abstractionist}]

1: a New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractions; the first important school of American painting to develop independently of European styles [syn: {action painting}]