as in relative
being such only when compared to something else
if you consider the multimillionaire's yearly income, we're living in comparative poverty
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Recent Examples of comparative
The costs were already the highest in Africa in 2024, according to the International Schools Database, a comparative research platform for international schools around the world.
—
Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Malle studied comparative literature and writing at Brown University, and began her career as a real estate writer for the New York Observer before joining Condé Nast.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Gillian Forrester, who studies comparative cognition at the University of Sussex in England and was not involved in either study, says social attention is key to maintaining a good reputation.
—Clarissa Brincat, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2025
Here's a comparative look at 10 of the top expenses for the two schools.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comparative
Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Malle studied comparative literature and writing at Brown University, and began her career as a real estate writer for the New York Observer before joining Condé Nast.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Gillian Forrester, who studies comparative cognition at the University of Sussex in England and was not involved in either study, says social attention is key to maintaining a good reputation.
—Clarissa Brincat, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2025
Here's a comparative look at 10 of the top expenses for the two schools.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comparative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comparative
relative
Adjective
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Ross, one of the Democrats to decline AIPAC money, is a relative centrist, according to a GovTrack scorecard, while Foushee and McGarvey, Kentucky’s only House Democrat, are in the middle of the pack ideologically.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Cells can be referred to by expressions in other cells using a special function use() with relative coordinates.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Comparative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comparative. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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