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
Washington’s comparative disinterest in its southern neighbors and China’s initially apolitical investments helped China gain ground quickly in a region where, historically, the U.S. has been the dominant external power.
—
Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
At least three strands of Atlantic historiography have proved fruitful thus far in thinking beyond isolated, modern nation-states: studies of the transatlantic slave trade, comparative histories of colonial societies in the Americas, and transatlantic histories of British and American imperialism.
—Abby Clayton, JSTOR Daily, 29 Apr. 2025
The shopping function can aggregate customer reviews and sentiment from social media sites like Reddit; can provide comparative analysis on price or features and can share direct links to help users make a purchase.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 28 Apr. 2025
Combined with David Ricardo (1772-1823), another influential British economist who expounded on the benefits of free trade with his theory of comparative advantage, by the mid-19th century laissez-faire became the central tenet to what was then a burgeoning discipline: economics.
— Made By History, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comparative
Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
At least three strands of Atlantic historiography have proved fruitful thus far in thinking beyond isolated, modern nation-states: studies of the transatlantic slave trade, comparative histories of colonial societies in the Americas, and transatlantic histories of British and American imperialism.
—Abby Clayton, JSTOR Daily, 29 Apr. 2025
The shopping function can aggregate customer reviews and sentiment from social media sites like Reddit; can provide comparative analysis on price or features and can share direct links to help users make a purchase.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 28 Apr. 2025
Combined with David Ricardo (1772-1823), another influential British economist who expounded on the benefits of free trade with his theory of comparative advantage, by the mid-19th century laissez-faire became the central tenet to what was then a burgeoning discipline: economics.
— Made By History, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comparative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comparative
relative
Adjective
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Morgan was enticed by the relative rarity of the Duster, which Plymouth produced for about seven years starting in 1970, and by its speed and maneuverability.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
13 May 2025
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The photo highlights the relative youth of human civilization by showing a 2,500-year-old temple that is ancient by the yardstick of human lives, alongside the 4.5 billion-year-old disk of Earth's moon, which has watched over humanity since our ancestors emerged from the oceans.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Comparative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comparative. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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