Noun

Singular superlative

Plural superlatives

superlative (plural superlatives)

1. The highest extent or degree of something.
2. (grammar) The form of an adjective that expresses which of more than two items has the highest degree of the quality expressed by the adjective; in English, formed by appending "-est" to the end of the adjective (for some short adjectives only) or putting "most" before it.

   The superlative of "big" is "biggest"

3. (informal) An adjective used to praise something exceptional.

   Lincoln is amazing, wonderful, fantastic, and many other superlatives I can’t think of right now!

Synonyms

• (highest degree): acme, peak

In grammar the superlative of an adjective or adverb is the greatest form of adjective or adverb which indicates that something has some feature to a greater degree than anything it is being compared to in a given context. For example, if AJ is 45, Deniz is 35, and Jeff is 25, AJ is the oldest of the three, because his age transcends those of Deniz and Jeff in one direction, while Jeff is the youngest, because his age transcends those of AJ and Deniz in the other direction. If David, who is 60, and Vincent, who is 20, join the group, David now becomes the oldest and Vincent the youngest.

Some prescriptive grammars hold that, when comparing only two entities, use of the superlative is ungrammatical: if the group were to contain only AJ and Deniz, AJ would be older, while Deniz would be younger and it would be ungrammatical to say that AJ was the oldest. The superlative degree used in reference to sets of two or fewer are found, however, in writing and speech. In an offer for auction to the "highest bidder" in which only one bid was received, for example, no rule of English grammar would negate the sale.

Some rigid, traditional grammarians object to the use of the superlative or comparative with words such as "full," "complete," "unique" or "empty," which by definition already denote either a totality, an absence, or an absolute. However, such words are routinely and frequently qualified in contemporary speech and writing. This type of usage conveys more of a figurative than a literal meaning, since in a strictly literal sense, something cannot be more or less unique or empty to a greater or lesser degree. For example, in the phrase "most complete selection of wines in the Midwest," "most complete" doesn't mean "closest to having all elements represented," it merely connotes a well-rounded, relatively extensive selection. Browsing in some of the best-known search-engines for "more complete" or "most complete" would establish the frequency of this usage by many of millions of examples.