Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Jump to content
WiktionaryThe Free Dictionary
Search

absolutely

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From lateMiddle Englishabsolutly,[1] equivalent toabsolute +‎-ly.First attested in 1425.[2]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

absolutely (comparativemoreabsolutely,superlativemostabsolutely)

  1. In an absolute orunconditional manner;utterly,positively,wholly.
    Synonyms:seeThesaurus:completely
  2. Independently; viewed without relation to other things or factors.
    Synonyms:seeThesaurus:individually
    • 1926,Nicomachus of Gerasa, Frank Egleston Robbins,Louis Charles Karpinski, translated by Martin Luther D'Ooge,Introduction to Arithmetic‎[1], New York:The Macmillan Company,page50:
      Another characteristic of numbers, which does not concern their mutual relations so much as themselvesabsolutely, is their ability, according to the ideas of Nicomachus, to conform to geometrical arrangements.
  3. As an intensive:extremely,very,indeed.
    • 1958 May 5, “Seasons' Sign in Sweden”, inLIFE,page15:
      But when it came to posing for publicity pictures they provedabsolutely brilliant doing just what came naturally.
    • 1995, Abbot F. Clark, Sherry Browder, H. Thomas Steely, Karen Wilson, David Cantu-Crouch, Mitchell D. McCartney, “Cell Biology of the Human Lamina Cribrosa”, inStephen M. Drance, editor,Optic Nerve in Glaucoma, Kugler Publications,page103:
      The strength of the mouse isabsolutely spectacular for various kinds of issues, until you find out that the mouse has absolutely no extracellular matrix to speak of in his optic nerve head.
    • 2018, Adam Cece,The Unbelievably Scary Thing That Happened in Huggabie Falls,Text Publishing,page212:
      The mostabsolutely terrifying creature lifted her head.

Usage notes

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
in an absolute manner
independently; viewed without relation to other things or factors
in a manner that does not take an object

Interjection

[edit]

absolutely

  2. Yes,certainly; expression indicating strong agreement.
    Is Bob a good teacher?
    Absolutely!
    Do you want a free cookie with that coffee?
    Absolutely!

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Some commentators, especially in England, criticise the interjectional use as having no meaning beyond that ofyes.[3] This is not to mean thatemphasis is useless, which of course,pragmatically speaking, it isn’t; rather, it means thatabsolutely is better avoided when there is no emphasis, or, in other words, when the meaning is simplyYes (compare, in French, the use ofTout à fait as an answer, with the meaning ofOui, which is advised against by the Trésor de la langue française informatisé). On the other hand, emphasis can also be expressed in other ways: for instance,Yes, of course,Yes, indeed,Yes, certainly.

Translations

[edit]
yes; certainly

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^“absō̆lūtlī,adv.”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
  2. ^“absolutely,adv.”, inOED OnlinePaid subscription required⁠, Oxford:Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  3. ^Christopher Howse; Richard Preston (2007),She Literally Exploded: TheDaily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook, London:Constable and Robinson,→ISBN, page 3.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=absolutely&oldid=89263675"
Categories:
Hidden categories:
[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2026 Movatter.jp