From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin absolute termsin absolute termsCOMPAREmeasured by itself, not in comparison with other things In absolute terms wages have risen, but not in comparison with the cost of living. → absolute
Examples from the Corpus
in absolute terms• Despite the severe cuts imposed in late 1976, public spending continued to rise in absolute terms.• Relative savings of only a few percent in this area can therefore mean sizeable savings in absolute terms.• The benefits sometimes received by strikers' families also rose in absolute terms.• Sometimes priorities can be expressed in absolute terms but at other times absolutes are impossible.• City rents are falling in absolute terms for the first time in 25 years.• Although the balance of power is shifting against the commission, in absolute terms it will gain power.• Their brains are larger in absolute terms than those of chimps but relative to body size, they are considerably smaller.• In absolute terms, the experiment wasn't a complete failure.• The ambitious goal of reducing real total public expenditure in absolute terms was never achieved. 