# comparative

Pronunciation: US say "kuhm-PAIR-uh-tiv" /kəmˈpɛɹ.ə.tɪv/; UK say "kuhm-PA-ruh-tiv" /kəmˈpæɹ.ə.tɪv/

## Adjective

1. Relating to comparison or to the act of comparing things.
   - Simple: Having to do with comparing things.
   - _The article offered a comparative discussion of the two economic models._
   - _His comparative remarks weighed the merits of each proposal in turn._
2. Based on comparing two or more things as a method of study.
   - Simple: Studying things by comparing them with each other.
   - _Comparative linguistics traces how related languages developed from a shared ancestor._
   - _Her research in comparative politics examines voting systems across several democracies._
4. Estimated or judged by comparison with something else; relative.
   - Simple: Judged by comparing with something else rather than on its own.
   - _She reached the ledge and rested in comparative safety._
   - _The new motor runs with comparative quiet beside the old one._

## Noun

3. The degree of an adjective or adverb used to compare two things, formed in English by adding -er or the word more, as in 'bigger' or 'more fully.'
   - Simple: The form of an adjective or adverb that compares two things, like 'bigger' or 'faster.'
   - _Adjectives like 'happy' form their comparative by changing to 'happier.'_
   - _English often forms the comparative with 'more' for longer words, as in 'more careful.'_
5. An adjective or adverb that is in the comparative degree, such as 'bigger' or 'more quickly.'
   - Simple: A word like 'bigger' or 'faster' that compares two things.
   - _The paragraph used three comparatives: 'larger,' 'darker,' and 'heavier.'_
   - _'Less expensive' works as a comparative just as 'cheaper' does._
6. Information or figures used as a basis for making a comparison.
   - Simple: Information you use to compare one thing with another.
   - _Analysts pulled in regional comparatives before valuing the property._
   - _Without reliable comparatives, the figures meant little on their own._

## Adjective

7. Comparable; able to bear comparison with something else. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Able to be compared with another thing as its equal.
   - _They judged the young scholar's wit comparative to his master's._
   - _The craftsmen produced work fully comparative to the famous workshops abroad._

## Noun

8. An equal, rival, or peer; someone who matches another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who is someone's equal or rival.
   - _The duke treated the upstart as a comparative and challenged him openly._
   - _Among the poets of the age he stood without a comparative._
9. A person who makes comparisons, especially one who shows off with witty remarks. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who makes clever comparisons or shows off their wit.
   - _The tavern's resident comparative needled newcomers with cutting remarks._
   - _He was a notorious comparative, forever weighing one man's faults against another's._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English comparatif and Middle French comparatif, from Latin comparātīvus. This is built from comparāre, meaning "to compare," plus the ending -ive (from Latin -īvus).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/comparative (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).