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.
1920–25; < German: figure, form, structure
A gestalt has two or more parts (like figure and ground) that are so integrated together that we perceive them as one object. Think of teaching "the whole child," and you have the idea behind gestalt. The perception of oneness from many is the basis of gestalt. It derived from the 1890 German philosophy of Gestaltqualität, meaning "form or shape," which explored the idea of perception. For example, a picture might have several separate parts that work together to form one perceived image. The area of gestalt psychology developed in 1912, focusing on the various aspects of a person and how they combine into a whole that affects that person's relationship with his or her environment.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The two- or three-word tags, meant to convey the gestalt of a show or movie, regularly help viewers choose a show from the service’s nearly endless library, the company says.
From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2024
The guides, it said, reflect “the whole gestalt of India’s association with sky and space.”
From Science Magazine • Nov. 7, 2023
"Almost no individual element of this was original—beans and greens have been the stuff of dinner since beans and greens began—and yet the gestalt had something to it, something unexpectedly right."
From Salon • Jan. 16, 2023
Its gestalt was slightly different than prophecy books of today; it was very focused on esoteric signals and secret messaging.
From Slate • Oct. 6, 2022
Hanson also preceded Kuhn in stressing the importance of gestalt psychology and in laying emphasis on the philosophy of Wittgenstein.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
