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gestalt

[ guh-shtahlt, -shtawlt, -stahlt, -stawlt ]
/ gəˈʃtɑlt, -ˈʃtɔlt, -ˈstɑlt, -ˈstɔlt /
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See synonyms for: gestalt / gestalten / gestalts on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural ge·stalts, ge·stal·ten [guh-shtahl-tn, -shtawl-, -stahl-, -stawl-]. /gəˈʃtɑl tn, -ˈʃtɔl-, -ˈstɑl-, -ˈstɔl-/. (sometimes initial capital letter)Psychology.
a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.
an instance or example of such a unified whole.
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Origin of gestalt

1920–25; <German: figure, form, structure
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to gestalt

composition, contour, shape, structure, disposition, figure, form, outline

How to use gestalt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gestalt

Gestalt
/ (ɡəˈʃtælt) /
noun plural -stalts or -stalten (-ˈʃtæltən)
(sometimes not capital) a perceptual pattern or structure possessing qualities as a whole that cannot be described merely as a sum of its partsSee also Gestalt psychology

Word Origin for Gestalt

C20: German: form, from Old High German stellen to shape
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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