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Superlative

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(pronounced soo-puhr-luh-tiv; “oo” as in “book” and not as in “boot”)  adjective and noun

Definition

(adjective) 1. of the highest kind, quality, or degree; surpassing or superior to all others; excelling all else; supreme.    2. exaggerated or excessive.    3. (grammar) of, relating to, or constituting the extreme degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb, as in best, smallest, weakest, greatest, most thoughtfully.

Main Example

• Michael Phelps's fans are celebrating the 18-time Olympic gold medalist's recent announcement that he will compete in the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. According to experts, Phelps owes some of his superlative performance in the swimming pool to his unrivalled kick: reportedly, he can bend his size 14 feet more than 15 degrees beyond the average person's range, thus “turning his legs and extended feet into giant flippers.”

Workplace Examples

• In my opinion, most of the credit for the exponential growth in our stock price--up over ten-fold since 2010--should go to our mergers and acquisitions department. By constantly unearthing small, niche companies that are a great strategic fit and short on cash, M&A has helped our revenues and profits to skyrocket. Those guys are just superlative, unmatched in the industry.
• I'm not the only manager who is a bit resentful of the kudos that top management keeps showering on Robert, the head of marketing. You must have noticed that even when his department accomplishes something that's modest at best, Robert is lavished with loads of superlative praise. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that he is the “golden boy” of the CEO and a few other execs.

Other Examples

• somebody commenting: “Our new executive VP, who just completed her first six months with the company, is doing superlatively well!”; in the Oscar-nominated movie “Carol,” Cate Blanchett playing the title role superlatively
• some mutual funds, such as BCSIX and POAGX, consistently ranking in the top 5% of all equity funds because of the superlative stock picking skills of their managers
• the superlatives that were flying in the media after the 9/11 attacks, such as “the worst terrorist attack on the U.S.,” “the bloodiest day on American soil,” “the highest death toll ever on a single day from a manmade disaster,” and so on
• the superlative technique of Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta, whom this author had the good fortune to watch from barely 15 feet away during her performance with the Houston Symphony this past February; the superlative inner discipline of Mahatma Gandhi
• the superlative academic record of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: a “60 Minutes” segment of a few years ago revealed that throughout his school and college years, Mr. Scalia was not only the No. 1 student in his class, but way ahead of the student who came in second

© 2017 V.J. Singal
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