Sublime
adjective /səˈblaɪm/ — Beauty so intense it becomes overwhelming.
Definition
Of such excellence or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe; in philosophy, the quality of greatness that exceeds ordinary beauty.
Beyond the definition
The philosopher Edmund Burke distinguished the beautiful (pleasant, comforting) from the sublime (overwhelming, tinged with awe and even fear). A sunset can be beautiful; a storm at sea can be sublime. The Grand Canyon is not beautiful — it's sublime.
Origin & history
From Latin sublimis — high, lofty (sub 'up to' + limen 'threshold' or limus 'oblique'). Originally meaning 'up to the lintel.'
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The view from the ridge was not beautiful — it was sublime, and briefly terrifying.
She experienced something sublime in the last movement, a quality beyond pleasure.
The sublime requires a certain scale — ordinary things cannot be sublime.
Synonyms
transcendent, magnificent, awe-inspiring, overwhelming, exalted
Antonyms
mundane, ordinary, mediocre
Related words
Sublime vs magnificent
Magnificent means impressively great or beautiful — lavish in scale or quality, inspiring admiration. Sublime is more philosophically specific: it describes beauty or greatness so extreme it overwhelms and even unsettles. Burke distinguished the beautiful (pleasing, comforting) from the sublime (overpowering, tinged with awe and fear). A palace can be magnificent; a storm at sea or the Grand Canyon is sublime. Magnificent inspires admiration; the sublime inspires awe.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Adult dwarfed by massive waterfall
A tiny adult stands on a rock ledge, dwarfed by a massive waterfall crashing into a deep, dark gorge.
The sheer scale and overwhelming power of the natural world inspire awe, representing a quality of greatness that exceeds ordinary, everyday beauty and humbles the observer.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration