incomparable
English
Etymology
From Middle French incomparable, from Old French, from Latin incomparabilis
Adjective
incomparable (comparative more incomparable, superlative most incomparable)
- So much better than another as to be beyond comparison; matchless or unsurpassed.
- c. 1905, Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, (1909), Robert Baldwin Ross, ed., page 112:
- I know of nothing in all drama more incomparable from the point of view of art, nothing more suggestive in its subtlety of observation, than Shakespeare's drawing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
- c. 1905, Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, (1909), Robert Baldwin Ross, ed., page 112:
- (rare) Not able to be compared.
Usage notes
- Using more or most with incomparable, though often disapproved, is relatively common. Such uses may once have only been accepted for poetic effect, but are now widespread.
- Despite its apparently absolute meaning, incomparable is often used as if there were degrees of incomparability, occurring with adverbs such as so and very.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
beyond comparison
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not able to be compared — see uncomparable
French
Etymology
in- + comparable
Adjective
incomparable (plural incomparables)
Further reading
- “incomparable” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Spanish
Adjective
incomparable (plural incomparables)
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