The difference between Absolute and Relative

When used as nouns, absolute means that which is independent of context-dependent interpretation, inviolate, fundamental, whereas relative means someone in the same family.

When used as adjectives, absolute means unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks, whereas relative means connected to or depending on something else.

check bellow for the other definitions of Absolute and Relative

  1. Absolute as an adjective:

    Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional. Unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks; (legally) unlimited in power, especially if despotic. # Characteristic of an absolutist ruler: domineering, peremptory. #* 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh: #*: The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head, / With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed. #* 1962, Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, (1990), page 155: #*: the more absolute the ruler, the more absolute the revolution will be which replaces him.

  2. Absolute as an adjective:

    Free from imperfection, perfect, complete; especially, perfectly embodying a quality in its essential characteristics or to its highest degree.

    Examples:

    "absolute purity'', ''absolute liberty"

  3. Absolute as an adjective:

    Pure, free from mixture or adulteration; unmixed.

    Examples:

    "absolute alcohol"

  4. Absolute as an adjective:

    Complete, utter, outright; unmitigated, not qualified or diminished in any way.

    Examples:

    "When caught, he told an absolute lie.'' ''an absolute denial of all charges"

  5. Absolute as an adjective:

    Positive, certain; unquestionable.

  6. Absolute as an adjective (archaic):

    Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty (e.g. a person, opinion or prediction).

  7. Absolute as an adjective (especially, philosophy):

    Fundamental, ultimate, intrinsic; not relative; independent of references or relations to other things or standards.

    Examples:

    "the doctrine that absolute knowledge of things is possible'', ''an absolute principle"

    "Absolute rights and duties are such as pertain to man in a state of nature as contradistinguished from ''relative'' rights and duties, or such as pertain to him in his social relations."

  8. Absolute as an adjective (physics):

    Independent of arbitrary units of measurement, standards, or properties; not comparative or relative. Having reference to or derived in the simplest manner from the fundamental units of mass, time, and length. Relating to the absolute temperature scale (based on absolute zero); kelvin.

    Examples:

    "absolute velocity'', ''absolute motion'', ''absolute position"

  9. Absolute as an adjective (grammar):

    Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence; not in a syntactical relation with other parts of a text, or qualifying the text as a whole rather than any single word in it, like "it being over" in "it being over, she left". Syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence in an atypical manner, or not relating to or depending on it, like in the nominative absolute or genitive absolute, accusative absolute or ablative absolute. Lacking a modified substantive, like "hungry" in "feed the hungry". Expressing a relative term without a definite comparison, like "older" in "an older person should be treated with respect". Positive; not graded (not comparative or superlative). Having no direct object, like "kill" in "if looks could kill". Being or pertaining to an inflected verb that is not preceded by any number of articles or compounded with a preverb.

  10. Absolute as an adjective (math):

    As measured using an absolute value.

    Examples:

    "absolute deviation"

    "absolute square"

    "mean absolute difference"

  11. Absolute as an adjective (math):

    Indicating an expression that is true for all real numbers, or of all values of the variable; unconditional.

  12. Absolute as an adjective (education):

    Pertaining to a grading system based on the knowledge of the individual and not on the comparative knowledge of the group of students.

  13. Absolute as an adjective (art, music, dance):

    Independent of (references to) other arts; expressing things (beauty, ideas, etc) only in one art.

    Examples:

    "absolute music"

  14. Absolute as an adjective (obsolete):

    Absolved; free.

  1. Absolute as a noun:

    That which is independent of context-dependent interpretation, inviolate, fundamental.

    Examples:

    "moral absolutes"

  2. Absolute as a noun:

    Anything that is absolute.

  3. Absolute as a noun (geometry):

    In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.

  4. Absolute as a noun (philosophy, usually capitalized):

    A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.

  5. Absolute as a noun (philosophy, usually capitalized):

    The unity of spirit and nature; God.

  6. Absolute as a noun (philosophy, usually capitalized):

    The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced.

  7. Absolute as a noun:

    Concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes.

  1. Relative as an adjective:

    Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.

  2. Relative as an adjective (computing, of a URL, URI, path, or similar):

    Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.

    Examples:

    "The relative URL <tt>/images/pic.jpg</tt>, when evaluated in the context of <tt>http&#x3A;//example.com/docs/pic.html</tt>, corresponds to the absolute URL <tt>http&#x3A;//example.com/images/pic.jpg</tt>."

  3. Relative as an adjective (grammar):

    That relates to an antecedent.

  4. Relative as an adjective (music):

    Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.

  5. Relative as an adjective:

    Relevant; pertinent; related.

    Examples:

    "'relative to your earlier point about taxes, ..."

  6. Relative as an adjective:

    Capable to be changed by other beings or circumstance; conditional.

  1. Relative as a noun:

    Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.

    Examples:

    "Why do my relatives always talk about sex?"

  2. Relative as a noun (linguistics):

    A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.

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