i Register
In some senses, sublime is marked as archaic, figuratively, obsolete, poetic. Watch for register when choosing this word.
verb
Synonym of sublimate.
Sub[tle]. […] VVho are you? Ana[nias]. A faithfull Brother, if it pleaſe you. Sub. VVhat's that? A Lullianiſt? a Ripley? Filius artis? Can you ſublime, and dulcefie?
The aſhes either of Pit-Coal, or Sea-Coal, make no Efferveſcence vvith Alkalies or Acids. VVhence the ſaline Principle is altogether volatile, and ſublimed avvay by the fire.
Synonym of sublimate.
[I]t [niter, or sodium carbonate] Calcineth, Sublimeth and Diſſolveth Minerals and Metals.
To raise (someone or an intangible thing) to a state of (especially moral or spiritual) excellence; to exalt.
Thoſe vvords vvhich doe ſublime the quinteſſence of bliſſe, […]
Miſtris Medulla, the Sunne of honour ſhine upon your hopes, till it ſublime you to a Ladiſhip: I vvill attend you preſently.
To cause (someone or something) to ascend; to raise (someone or something) to a high position.
I am ſublim'd! groſſe earth Supports me not. I vvalk on ayr!
But thou (dear Vine) forbid'ſt me to be long, Although thy Trunk be neither large, nor ſtrong, Nor can thy Head (not helpt) it ſelf ſublime, Yet like a Serpent, a tall Tree can climb, […]
To cause (juice or sap) to rise in a plant.
[Camfire, i.e., camphor] ſeemeth plainely to be ſo made by art, being caſt as it vvere or ſublimed into broad round pans or diſhes and little above the thickneſſe of ones thumbe, […]
adj
High, tall, towering; also, positioned in a high place; high-up, lofty.
The Heroe, looking on the left, eſpy'd A lofty Tovv'r, and ſtrong on ev'ry ſide […] Vain is the force of Man, and Heav'ns as van, To cruſh the Pillars vvhich the Pile ſuſtain. Sublime on theſe a Tovv'r of Steel is rear'd; And dire Tiſiphone these keeps the VVard.
Of an aspect of art or nature: causing awe or deep respect due to its beauty or magnificence; awe-inspiring, impressive.
sublime scenery
We had entered the clouds. For half-an-hour we were muffled in a cold, damp mist, and total darkness, and had begun to think of going indoors when, all at once, the car burst into the pure and starlit region of the upper air. A cry of joyous admiration escaped from us all. The spectacle before us was indeed sublime.
Of flight: ascending, soaring.
Of an idea or other thing: requiring great intellectual effort to appreciate or understand; very elevated, refined, or subtle.
Of language, style, or writing: expressing opinions in a grand way.
noun
Something which is sublime; a sublimity.
Car[los]. VVhat is your opinion of the Play? Yo[ung] Mag[got]. […] There are a great many ſublimes that are very Poetical.
[S]ince there are tvvo ſorts of Sublimes, the one of Nonſence, and the other of Eloquence, I vvill not take upon me to judge to vvhich of theſe this belongs.
In the form the sublime of: the highest degree; the acme, the height.
No solemn, antique gentleman of rhyme, Who having angled all his life for fame, And getting but a nibble at a time, Still fussily keeps fishing on, the same Small "Triton of the minnows," the sublime Of mediocrity, the furious tame, […]
Chiefly preceded by the.
[T]he vvhole capacity of the eye, vibrating in all its parts muſt approach near to the nature of vvhat cauſes pain, and conſequently muſt produce an idea of the ſublime. Or if vve take it, that one point only of an object is diſtinguiſhable at oince; the matter vvill amount nearly to the ſame thing, or rather it vvill make the origin of the ſublime from greatneſs of dimenſion yet clearer.
[Our old meeting house's] double row of windows, of which I knew the number by heart, its doors with great wooden quirls over them, its belfry projecting out that the east end, its steeple and bell, all inspired as much sense of the sublime in me as Stratsburg Cathedral itself, and the inside was not a whit less imposing.
Chiefly preceded by the.
And, after, feigning pique at what she call'd The raillery, or grotesque, or false sublime— Like one that wishes at a dance to change The music—clapt her hands and cried for war, Or some grand fight to kill and make an end: […]
Chiefly preceded by the.
The ſublime and the ridiculous are often ſo nearly related, that it is difficult to claſs them ſeparately. One ſtep above the ſublime, makes the ridiculous; and one ſtep above the ridiculous, makes the ſublime again.
There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it—I paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?