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Inactive; inert; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive.

ly; -- opposed to negatively. Good and evil which is removed may be esteemed good or evil comparatively, and positively simply. Bacon. Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord, Before I positively speak herein. Shak. I would ask . . . whether . . . the divine law does not positively require humility and meekness…

on of one portion to another, or to the whole, as respect magnitude, quantity, or degree; comparative relation; ratio; as, the proportion of the parts of a building, or of the body. The image of Christ, made after his own proportion. Ridley. Formed in the best proportions of her sex. Sir W. Scott. Documents are authent…

Having a due proportion, or comparative relation; being in suitable proportion or degree; as, the parts of an edifice are proportional. Milton.

To make proportional; to adjust according to a settled rate, or to due comparative relation; to proportion; as, to proportionate punishment to crimes.

hich answers the question "How much"; measure in regard to bulk or amount; determinate or comparative dimensions; measure; amount; bulk; extent; size. Hence, in specific uses:

; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order; as, a scale of being. There is a certain scale of duties . . . which for want of studying in right order, all the world is in confusion. Milton.

Comparative obscurity owing to interception or interruption of the rays of light; partial darkness caused by the intervention of something between the space contemplated and the source of light.

posed of zinc and copper, or silver and copper, etc. -- Soft solder, a solder fusible at comparatively low temperatures; as, plumbers' solder, consisting of two parts lead and one part tin, is a soft solder.

Any long and comparatively slender piece of wood, whether in natural form or shaped with tools; a rod; a wand; a staff; as, the stick of a rocket; a walking stick.

Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low. "A still small voice." 1 Kings xix. 12.

A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural; as, the strait, or straits, of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the strait, or straits, of Mackinaw. We steered directly through a large outlet which they call a strait, though it be fifteen miles broad. De Foe.…

A narrow piece, or one comparatively long; as, a strip of cloth; a strip of land.

are all superlatives. Absolute superlative, a superlative in an absolute rather than in a comparative or exclusive sense. See Elative.

High in stature; having a considerable, or an unusual, extension upward; long and comparatively slender; having the diameter or lateral extent small in proportion to the height; as, a tall person, tree, or mast. Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall. Milton.

ther as a remedy or a poison, acts primarily on the spinal cord, and which, when taken in comparatively large quantity, produces tetanic spasms or convulsions.

By that; by how much; by so much; on that account; -- used before comparatives; as, the longer we continue in sin, the more difficult it is to reform. "Yet not the more cease I." Milton. So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers Irradiate. Milton.

l sound without resonance, like that produced by striking with, or striking against, some comparatively soft substance; also, the stroke or blow producing such sound; as, the thrud of a cannon ball striking the earth. At every new thud of the blast, a sob arose. Jeffrey. At intervals there came some tremendous thud on…

r engraving, as in stone. The two letters were formerly used indiscriminately, and till a comparatively recent date words containing them were often classed together in dictionaries and other books of reference (see U). The letter V is from the Latin alphabet, where it was used both as a consonant (about like English w…

Large possessions; a comparative abundance of things which are objects of human desire; esp., abundance of worldly estate; affluence; opulence; riches. I have little wealth to lose. Shak. Each day new wealth, without their care, provides. Dryden. Wealth comprises all articles of value and nothing else. F. A. Walker. Ac…