objective

[uhb-jek-tiv]

noun

1. something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a fund-raising drive.

   the objective of a military attack;

   the objective of a fund-raising drive.

   Synonyms: aim, destination, object

2. Grammar.

   1. Also called objective case. (in English and some other languages) a case specialized for the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition, as him in The boy hit him, or me in He comes to me with his troubles.

   2. a word in that case.

3. Also called object glass, object lens. Also called objective lens. Optics.,  (in a telescope, microscope, camera, or other optical system) the lens or combination of lenses that first receives the rays from the object and forms the image in the focal plane of the eyepiece, as in a microscope, or on a plate or screen, as in a camera.

adjective

1. being the object or goal of one's efforts or actions.

2. not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased.

   an objective opinion.

   Synonyms: disinterested, impersonal, fair, impartial
   Antonyms: personal

3. intent upon or dealing with things external to the mind rather than with thoughts or feelings, as a person or a book.

4. being the object of perception or thought; belonging to the object of thought rather than to the thinking subject (subjective ).

5. of or relating to something that can be known, or to something that is an object or a part of an object; existing independent of thought or an observer as part of reality.

6. Grammar.

   1. pertaining to the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition.

   2. (in English and some other languages) noting the objective case.

   3. similar to such a case in meaning.

   4. (in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that denotes something undergoing a change of state or bearing a neutral relation to the verb, as the rock in The rock moved or in The child threw the rock.

7. being part of or pertaining to an object to be drawn.

   an objective plane.

8. Medicine/Medical.,  (of a symptom) discernible to others as well as the patient.

objective

/ əbˈdʒɛktɪv, ˌɒbdʒɛkˈtaɪvəl /

adjective

1. existing independently of perception or an individual's conceptions

   are there objective moral values?

2. undistorted by emotion or personal bias

3. of or relating to actual and external phenomena as opposed to thoughts, feelings, etc

4. med (of disease symptoms) perceptible to persons other than the individual affected

5. grammar denoting a case of nouns and pronouns, esp in languages having only two cases, that is used to identify the direct object of a finite verb or preposition and for various other purposes. In English the objective case of pronouns is also used in many elliptical constructions (as in Poor me! Who, him? ), as the subject of a gerund (as in It was me helping him ), informally as a predicate complement (as in It's me ), and in nonstandard use as part of a compound subject (as in John, Larry, and me went fishing ) See also accusative

6. of, or relating to a goal or aim

noun

1. the object of one's endeavours; goal; aim

2. Also called: objective point. military a place or position towards which forces are directed

3. an actual phenomenon; reality

4. grammar

   1. the objective case

   2. a word or speech element in the objective case

5. Also called: object glass. optics

   1. the lens or combination of lenses nearest to the object in an optical instrument

   2. the lens or combination of lenses forming the image in a camera or projector

objective

1. The lens or mirror in a microscope or other optical instrument that first receives light rays from the object and forms the image.

Other Word Forms

• objectivity noun
• objectively adverb
• objectival adjective
• objectiveness noun
• preobjective adjective
• quasi-objective adjective
• semiobjective adjective
• semiobjectiveness noun
• unobjective adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of objective¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin objectīvus, equivalent to Latin object(us) ( object ) + -īvus adjective suffix ( -ive )

Example Sentences

But you should think about your investment objectives and your time frame, both of which change over the years.

Read more on MarketWatch

That’s a pointed response to the Administration’s theme that signatories must commit to elevating merit and objective measures of accomplishment everywhere from university admissions to grade allocation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Totalitarianism demands the continuous alteration of the past and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth.”

Read more on Salon

In January, the EU said the main objective of the mission was to coordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 wounded and sick people.

Read more on Barron's

To prove vindictive prosecution, a defendant must show through objective evidence that the prosecutor acted with “genuine animus” and that the defendant would not have been prosecuted except for that hostility.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• detached 
• disinterested 
• dispassionate 
• equitable 
• evenhanded 
• nonpartisan 
• open-minded 
• unbiased