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ULTIMATE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The finest or most superior quality of its kind
Example:
the ultimate in luxury
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("ultimate" is a kind of...):
quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Being the last or concluding element of a series
Example:
a distinction between the verb and noun senses of 'conflict' is that in the verb the stress is on the ultimate (or last) syllable
Classified under:
Similar:
last (coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining)
Derivation:
ultimateness (the state or degree of being ultimate; the final or most extreme in degree or size or time or distance)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme
Example:
one's ultimate goal in life
Classified under:
Similar:
crowning (representing a level of the highest possible achievement or attainment)
eventual (expected to follow in the indefinite future from causes already operating)
final; last; net (conclusive in a process or progression)
last-ditch (of something done as a final recourse (especially to prevent a crisis or disaster))
supreme (final or last in your life or progress)
Attribute:
ultimacy; ultimateness (the state or degree of being ultimate; the final or most extreme in degree or size or time or distance)
Antonym:
proximate (closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects)
Derivation:
ultimateness (the state or degree of being ultimate; the final or most extreme in degree or size or time or distance)
Context examples:
An organization who takes part in the distribution chain for a product, as it is moved from its producer to the ultimate consumer.
(Distributor, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)
A coordinated set of actions and observations designed to generate data, with the ultimate goal of discovery or hypothesis testing.
(Experiment, NCI Thesaurus)
And yet the problem should be capable of ultimate solution.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The identification of this superfamily helped elucidate some of the biologic functions of NGFR, including its ultimate involvement in the nuclear factor kappa-B (NFKB) and apoptosis pathways.
(Nerve Growth Factor Receptor, NCI Thesaurus)
Ultimate; final; remaining after all deductions, outlay, or loss.
(Net, NCI Thesaurus)
Though Io’s hyperactive volcanoes are the ultimate source of the SO2, sunlight controls the atmospheric pressure on a daily basis by controlling the temperature of the ice on the surface.
(New Research Reveals Fluctuating Atmosphere of Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon, NASA)
Its finder has carried it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas dinner.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
These data led to the discovery of PSR J1640-4631, a pulsar spinning five times per second — and the ultimate power source of both the high-energy X-rays and gamma rays.
(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)
The ultimate ceramide action is determined within the context of other stimuli and by the subcellular topology of its production and is cell-type specific.
(Ceramide Signaling Pathway BioCarta, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
Conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence.
(Ideal, NCI Thesaurus)
