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Absolute vs Express - What's the difference?

absolute | express | Related terms |

Absolute is a related term of express.


As nouns the difference between absolute and express

is that absolute is (philosophy) that which is totally unconditioned, unrestricted, pure, perfect, or complete; that which can be thought of without relation to others while express is a mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly or express can be (obsolete) the action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.

As an adjective express is

(not comparable) moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

As a verb express is

(senseid) to convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.

absolute

English

Alternative forms

*

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • (obsolete) Absolved; free.
  • (obsolete) Disengaged from accidental circumstances.
  • (archaic) Complete in itself; perfect.
  • * (rfdate) :
  • So absolute she seems, And in herself complete.
  • (grammar) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence; as
  • # (of a case form) syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence in an atypical manner; ablative absolute; nominative absolute; genitive absolute; accusative absolute.
  • # standing by itself in a loose syntactical connection, and qualifying the sentence as a whole rather than any single word in it.
  • Anyhow in 'anyhow, I made it home' is an absolute .
  • # (of an adjective or possessive pronoun) lacking a modified substantive.
  • Hungry in 'Feed the hungry.'
  • # (comparative, superlative) expressing a relative term without a definite comparison.'
  • Older in 'An older person should be treated with respect.
  • # having no direct object.
  • Kill in 'If looks could kill...'
  • # (Irish, Welsh) an inflected verb that is not preceded by any number of articles or compounded with a preverb.
  • (obsolete) Absorbed in, as an occupation.
  • Unrestricted; in sole control; possessing absolute power; independent, as in ownership or authority.
  • Pure; unmixed; as, absolute alcohol.
  • (figurative) Complete; utter; outright; unmitigated; entire; total; not qualified or diminished in any way; unrestricted; without limitation.
  • When caught, he told an absolute lie.
  • Unconditional; free from any conditions, limitations, and relations;
  • # having unlimited power, without limits set by a constitution, parliament, or other means.
  • # proceeding from or characteristic of an absolute ruler.
  • * 1962 , Hannah Arendt, On Revolution , (1990), page 155:
  • the more absolute' the ruler, the more ' absolute the revolution will be which replaces him.
  • # Absolutist; arbitrary; despotic.
  • Real; actual.
  • (archaic) Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty, as a person or prediction.
  • * (rfdate) (William Shakespeare), Cymbeline , Act 4, Scene 2:
  • I am absolute ’t was very Cloten.
  • Positive; unquestionable; peremptory.
  • Free from conditional limitations; operating or existing in full under all circumstances without variation.
  • (philosophy) Existing, able to be thought of, or able to be viewed without relation to other things.
  • absolute motion
    absolute time or space
    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.
  • * (rfdate) :
  • To Cusa we can indeed articulately trace, word and thing, the recent philosophy of the absolute .
  • Authoritative; peremptory.
  • * (rfdate) :
  • The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head, With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed.
  • (philosophy) Fundamental; ultimate; intrinsic; free from the variability and error natural to the human way of thinking and perception.
  • (physics) Independent of arbitrary units of measurement not comparative or relative as,
  • # having reference to or derived from the simplest manner from the fundamental units of mass, time, and length.
  • # relating to the absolute temperature scale.
  • (legal) Complete; unconditional; final; without encumbrances; not liable to change or cancellation.
  • (education) Pertaining to a grading system based on the knowledge of the individual and not on the comparative knowledge of the group of students.
  • (art) Concerned entirely with expressing beauty and feelings, lacking meaningful reference.
  • (dance) Utilizing the body to express ideas, independent of music and costumes.
  • (math) Indicating an expression that is true for all real number; unconditional.
  • Derived terms

    * ablative absolute * absolute address * absolute curvature * absolute equation * absolute magnitude * absolute majority * absolute monarchy * absolute music * absolute pitch * absolute power * absolute space * absolute term * absolute temperature * absolute value * absolute zero

    Synonyms

    * categorical, unconditional, unlimited, unrestricted * (having unlimited power) autocratic, despotic * (complete in itself) fixed * (able to be viewed without relation to other things) independent

    Antonyms

    * conditional, limited * (able to be viewed without relation to other things) relative, dependent

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • That which is independent of context-dependent interpretation, inviolate, fundamental.
  • moral absolutes
  • Anything that is absolute.
  • (geometry) In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.
  • (philosophy, usually capitalized) A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.
  • * 1983 , (Lawrence Durrell), Sebastian'', Faber & Faber 2004 (''Avignon Quintet ), page 1039:
  • Withdrawn as a Buddha he sat, watching the alien world from his perch in the absolute .
  • (philosophy, usually capitalized) The unity of spirit and nature; God.
  • (philosophy, usually capitalized) The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced.
  • Concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes.
  • Usage notes

    * (not dependent on anything else) Usually preceded by the word the . * (sense) Usually preceded by the word the

    References

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    express

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) , from (etyl) expressus, past participle of (exprimere) (see Etymology 2, below).

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (not comparable) Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
  • (comparable) Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.
  • I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.
    This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.
  • Truly depicted; exactly resembling.
  • In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance.
  • * Milton
  • Their human countenance / The express resemblance of the gods.
    Synonyms
    * explicit * (of a train) fast, crack
    Antonyms
    * implied

    Noun

    (es)
  • A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly.
  • I took the express into town.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1931, author=
  • , title=Death Walks in Eastrepps , chapter=1/1 citation , passage=The train was moving less fast through the summer night. The swift express had changed into something almost a parliamentary, had stopped three times since Norwich, and now, at long last, was approaching Banton.}}
  • A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
  • An express rifle.
  • * H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines
  • "Give me my express ," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked.
  • (obsolete) A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • the only remanent express of Christ's sacrifice on earth
  • A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.
  • An express office.
  • * E. E. Hale
  • She charged him to ask at the express if anything came up from town.
  • That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
  • (Eikon Basilike)
    Synonyms
    * (of a train) fast train
    Antonyms
    * (of a train) local, stopper

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) espresser, (expresser), from frequentative form of (etyl) exprimere.

    Verb

    (es)
  • (senseid) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith. As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other.}}
  • To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).
  • * 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby-Dick) ,
  • The people of his island of Rokovoko, it seems, at their wedding feasts express the fragrant water of young cocoanuts into a large stained calabash like a punchbowl [...].
  • (biochemistry) To translate messenger RNA into protein.
  • (biochemistry) To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.
  • Synonyms
    * (l), (l)

    Noun

    (expresses)
  • (obsolete) The action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.
  • * 1646 , Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica , V.20:
  • Whereby they discoursed in silence, and were intuitively understood from the theory of their expresses .
  • (obsolete) A specific statement or instruction.
  • * 1646 , (Sir Thomas Browne), Pseudodoxia Epidemica , II.5:
  • This Gentleman [...] caused a man to go down no less than a hundred fathom, with express to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it groweth.