English - Etymology

From Middle French comparatif, from Latin comparativus, equivalent to comparatus, from comparare (“to compare”) + -ive, from Latin -ivus.

English - Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpɛɹ.ə.tɪv/, /kəmˈpæɹ.ə.tɪv/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpæ.ɹə.tɪv/

English - Adjective

comparative (comparative more comparative, superlative most comparative)

1. Of or relating to comparison.
   • Granvill

     The comparative faculty.

2. Using comparison as a method of study, or founded on something using it.

   comparative anatomy

3. Approximated by comparison; relative.
   • Whewell

     The recurrence of comparative warmth and cold.

   • Bentley

     The bubble, by reason of its comparative levity to the fluid that encloses it, would necessarily ascend to the top.

4. (obsolete) Comparable; bearing comparison.
   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.137:

     And need he had of slumber yet, for none / Had suffered more—his hardships were comparative / To those related in my grand-dad's Narrative.

Derived terms

• comparatively
• comparative method
• comparativeness
• comparativism
• comparativist
• comparativistic

Translations

English - Noun

Wikipedia

comparative (plural comparatives)

1. (grammar) A construction showing a relative quality, in English usually formed by adding more or appending -er. For example, the comparative of green is greener; of evil, more evil.
2. (grammar) A word in the comparative form.
3. (obsolete) An equal; a rival; a compeer.
   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     Gerard ever was / His full comparative.

4. (obsolete) One who makes comparisons; one who affects wit.
   • William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Pt. 1 (1597), III.ii.67:

     Every beardless vain comparative.

Translations

English - Related Terms

• absolute, absolute superlative, relative superlative, comparative superlative
• degrees of comparison
• superlative

English - See Also

• contrastive

English - References

• “comparative” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
• “comparative” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "comparative" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

French - Adjective

comparative f

1. feminine form of comparatif

Italian - Adjective

comparative

1. feminine plural of comparativo

Italian - Anagrams

• comparivate
• crepitavamo

Latin - Adjective

comparātīve

1. vocative masculine singular of comparātīvus

Rhyme