Are there terms for adjectives that imply or exclude totality?
When I hear waterproof, I think "water definitely can't get in." To me, that's an adjective that implies totality (for my ignorance of a better term).
When I hear water-resistant, I think "water won't get in easily, but it's definitely not waterproof." To me, that phrase excludes totality.
Are there terms for these different types of adjectives that imply or exclude totality?
And is there a term for adjectives that do neither of these things and describe, I guess, the full range of a quality?
Adjective Gradability
Adjectives describe qualities (characteristics) of nouns. Some qualities can vary in intensity or "grade", for example:
rather hot, hot, very hot; hot, hotter, the hottest The adjective hot is gradable.
Other qualities cannot vary in intensity or grade because they are:
- extremes (for example: freezing)
- absolutes (for example: dead)
- classifying (for example: nuclear)
The adjectives freezing, dead and nuclear are non-gradable.
(From EnglishClub)
'Waterproof' is probably best seen as at the (idealised?) end of a continuum of water resistance, so I'd probably go with 'extreme' here (although 'absolute' is arguably true also.)