Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Objective
Ob-jec′tive
(ŏb-jĕk′tĭv)
, Adj.
[Cf. F.
objectif
.] 1.
Of or pertaining to an object.
In the Middle Ages,
subject
meant substance
, and has this sense in Descartes
and Spinoza:
sometimes, also, in Reid
. Subjective
is used by William of Occam
to denote that which exists independent of mind; objective
, what is formed by the mind. This shows what is meant by realitas objectiva
in Descartes
. Kant
and Fichte
have inverted the meanings. Subject
, with them, is the mind which knows; object
, that which is known; subjective
, the varying conditions of the knowing mind; objective
, that which is in the constant nature of the thing known. Trendelenburg.
Objective
has come to mean that which has independent existence or authority, apart from our experience or thought. Thus, moral law is said to have objective authority
, that is, authority belonging to itself, and not drawn from anything in our nature. Calderwood (Fleming’s Vocabulary).
Objective
means that which belongs to, or proceeds from, the object known, and not from the subject knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in opposition to that which is ideal – what exists in nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the thought of the individual. Sir. W. Hamilton.
4.
(Gram.)
Pertaining to, or designating, the case which follows a transitive verb or a preposition, being that case in which the direct object of the verb is placed. See
Accusative
, Noun.
☞ The objective case is frequently used without a governing word, esp. in designations of time or space, where a preposition, as at, in, on, etc., may be supplied.
My troublous dream [on]
this night
doth make me sad. Shakespeare
To write of victories [
in
or for] next year
. Hudibras.
Objective line
(Perspective)
, a line drawn on the geometrical plane which is represented or sought to be represented.
– Objective plane
(Perspective)
, any plane in the horizontal plane that is represented.
– Objective point
, the point or result to which the operations of an army are directed. By extension, the point or purpose to which anything, as a journey or an argument, is directed.
Syn. –
Objective
, Subjective
. Objective is applied to things exterior to the mind, and objects of its attention; subjective, to the operations of the mind itself. Hence, an objective motive is some outward thing awakening desire; a subjective motive is some internal feeling or propensity. Objective views are those governed by outward things; subjective views are produced or modified by internal feeling. Sir Walter Scott's poetry is chiefly objective; that of Wordsworth is eminently subjective.
In the philosophy of mind,
subjective
denotes what is to be referred to the thinking subject, the ego; objective
what belongs to the object of thought, the non-ego. Sir. W. Hamilton
Webster 1828 Edition
Objective
OBJECT'IVE
,Adj.
1.
Belonging to the object; contained in the object.Objective certainty, is when the proposition is certainly true in itself; and subjective, when we are certain of the truth of it. The one is in things, the other in our minds.
2.
In grammar, the objective case is that which follows a transitive verb or a preposition; that case in which the object of the verb is placed, when produced or affected by the act expressed by the verb. This case in English answers to the oblique cases of the Latin.Definition 2024
objective
objective
See also: objectivé
English
Adjective
objective (comparative more objective, superlative most objective)
- Of or relating to a material object, actual existence or reality.
- Not influenced by the emotions or prejudices.
- Based on observed facts.
- 1975, Constitution of Greece:
- Engagement of employees in the Public Administration and in the wider Public Sector, ... , shall take place either by competitive entry examination or by selection on the basis of predefined and objective criteria, and shall be subject to the control of an independent authority, as specified by law.
-
- (grammar) Of, or relating to a noun or pronoun used as the object of a verb.
- 1921, H. L. Mencken, The American Language:
- Let us now glance at the demonstrative and relative pronouns. Of the former there are but two in English, this and that, with their plural forms, these and those. To them, American adds a third, them, which is also the personal pronoun of the third person, objective case.
-
-
(linguistics, grammar) Of, or relating to verbal conjugation that indicates the object (patient) of an action. (In linguistic descriptions of Tundra Nenets, among others.)
- 2014, Irina Nikolaeva, A Grammar of Tundra Nenets, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-032047-3
- The general finite stem is the verbal stem which serves as the basis of inflection in the indicative present and past in the subjective conjugation and the objective conjugation with the singular and dual object.
- 2014, Irina Nikolaeva, A Grammar of Tundra Nenets, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-032047-3
Usage notes
- Said of account, judgment, criteria, person, existence, or observation.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
relating to a material object
|
not influenced by emotions
|
|
based on observed fact
|
grammar
|
Noun
objective (plural objectives)
- A material object that physically exists.
- A goal that is striven for.
- 1913, G. B. Shaw, Pygmalion, Preface:
- His true objective was the provision of a full, accurate, legible script for our noble but ill-dressed language; but he was led past that by his contempt for the popular Pitman system of Shorthand, which he called the Pitfall system.
- 2012, Christine Wilding, chapter 2, in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Croydon, UK: CPI Group (UK) Ltd, page 15:
- Objectives are the stepping stones which guide you to achieving your goals. They must be verifiable in some way, whether thatʼs statistically – ‘the more I do this, the better I get at itʼ – or by some other achievable concept such as getting the job or relationship that you want. Itʼs crucial that your objectives lead you logically towards your goal and are quantifiable.
-
- (grammar) The objective case; a noun or pronoun in that case.
- The lens or lenses of a camera, microscope, or other optical device closest to the object being examined.
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:goal
Translations
material object
goal
|
|
(grammar) the objective case
lens