power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely
The corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total.
absolute
UK /ˈæb.sə.luːt/ US /ˈæb.səˌlut/
noun 6adj 5
Collocations
5ADJ.
all, best, free, legal, over, universal
She has absolute freedom to choose whatever career path she wants.
VERB + ABSOLUTE
enjoy, found, held, orders, require, says
The government held absolute power over the country for nearly twenty years.
ABSOLUTE + NOUN
freedom, loyalty, monarch, necessity, nonsense, proof, significance, sincerity
What you're saying is absolute nonsense and I won't listen to it anymore.
PREP.
from, in
She felt absolute freedom from worry after finally paying off her debts.
ADV.
almost, always
She was almost absolute in her refusal to compromise on the project deadline.
Definitions
adj
1
Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.
While Americans enjoy an almost absolute freedom to name their children whatever they please, in Germany the State (as public guardian of the good of the child) restricts parents [...]
2
Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.
An absolute monarch is free from all forcible restraint, and so far as he is absolute[,] from all legal restraints of positive laws.
3
Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.
The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head, / With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed.
[…] the more absolute the ruler, the more absolute the revolution will be which replaces him.
4
Free from imperfection, perfect, complete; especially, perfectly embodying a quality in its essential characteristics or to its highest degree.
absolute purity, absolute liberty
So absolute she seems, / And in herself complete.
5
Pure, free from mixture or adulteration; unmixed.
absolute alcohol
noun
1
That which exists (or has a certain property, nature, size, etc) independent of references to other standards or external conditions; that which is universally valid; that which is not relative, conditional, qualified or mitigated.
moral absolutes
There is a well-known generalization that human rights come before property rights. […] Unqualified absolutes like these do not contain the truth as tested by human experience. What we do say is that human rights and property rights are related to one another, are intertwined with one another, work with and play upon one another.
2
In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.
3
A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.
Withdrawn as a Buddha he sat, watching the alien world from his perch in the absolute.
4
The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced; the unity of spirit and nature; God.
5
A concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes; an alcoholic extract of a concrete.
Complete concentration in a vacuum still at low temperature results in a concentrated flower oil, free from alcohol, the so-called absolute of enfleurage. The crude absolutes of enfleurage are usually of dark color and, because of their fat content, […]
The main difference between these and those of indifferent quality is that the former contain flower absolutes in fairly large proportion and the latter either an insignificant quantity or […]
noun
1
That which is totally unconditioned, unrestricted, pure, perfect, or complete; that which can be thought of without relation to others.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
adjective — not capable of being violated or infringed
- infrangible
- inviolable
adjective — complete and without restriction or qualification
- downright
- right-down
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
fee simple absolute in possession
The unqualified and unrestricted ownership of an estate in land; freehold tenure.
term of years absolute
An estate in land held for a term of years of either a specified length or on a periodic basis, and which is not a term of years determinable (though may be determinable for other reasons); a leasehold estate in land.
Example Bank
601
While Americans enjoy an almost absolute freedom to name their children whatever they please, in Germany the State (as public guardian of the good of the child) restricts parents [...]
Wiktionary02
An absolute monarch is free from all forcible restraint, and so far as he is absolute[,] from all legal restraints of positive laws.
Wiktionary03
moral absolutes
Wiktionary04
There is a well-known generalization that human rights come before property rights. […] Unqualified absolutes like these do not contain the truth as tested by human experience. What we do say is that
Wiktionary05
But if the psychoanalytic mood seems gloomy or pretentious, one may merely think of Anna as a person who comes to deal in absolutes: unconditional demands, total fears, extremities of power and subser
Wiktionary06
That's the absolute truth.
Tatoeba · #1812Usage Notes
Your note
not saved0 chars