How to get the Absolute Value of a Number in Python

John on September 17, 2020

To get the absolute value of a number in Python, use the abs() method. This method will convert integers and floating-point numbers to their absolute equivalents and for complex numbers their magnitude.

Get the Absolute Value of a Number

To get the absolute value of a floating-point or integer pass it inside the () (parenthesis) of the abs() method. Let's try out a couple of examples and print the results.

decimal = -1.354
integer = -34564

dec_abs = abs(decimal)
int_abs = abs(integer)

print(dec_abs)
print(int_abs)

1.354
34564

Get the Absolute Value of a Complex Number

A complex number consists of a real number and an imaginary unit to represent a number that can't be represented numerically. If we pass a complex number into abs() we will get its magnitude.

comp = 10 + 10j

comp_abs = abs(comp)

print(comp_abs)

14.142135623730951

Conclusion

You now know how to get the absolute value of any given number using abs() in Python