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objective

[uhb-jek-tiv]
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noun
  1. something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a military attack; the objective of a fund-raising drive.
  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, 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.
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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.
  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 (opposed to 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.
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Origin of objective

1610–20; < Medieval Latin objectīvus, equivalent to Latin object(us) (see object) + -īvus -ive
Related formsob·jec·tive·ly, adverbob·jec·tive·ness, nounpre·ob·jec·tive, adjectivequa·si-ob·jec·tive, adjectivequa·si-ob·jec·tive·ly, adverbsem·i·ob·jec·tive, adjectivesem·i·ob·jec·tive·ly, adverbsem·i·ob·jec·tive·ness, nounun·ob·jec·tive, adjectiveun·ob·jec·tive·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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1. object, destination, aim. 5. impartial, fair, impersonal, disinterested.

Antonyms

5. personal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

duty, right, honesty, veracity, uprightness, goodness, justness, disinterestedness, integrity, justice, disinterest, decorum, impartiality, dispassion, equity, seemliness, objectivity, tolerance, humanity, righteousness

Examples from the Web for objectiveness

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It also is interesting to compare the subjectiveness and objectiveness of sensations.

    Visual Illusions

    Matthew Luckiesh

  • Her objectiveness did not insure her, however, from misconstruction.

    Maria Edgeworth

    Helen Zimmern

  • Thought, emotion and melody are mingled in perfect measure: it has the lyrical "cry," and the objectiveness of the drama.

  • This objectiveness was useful and necessary in early times, and the demand for it remains in periods of advanced civilization.

  • The bond between the man and his art is so necessary and immediate that no objectiveness of method can conceal it.

    Personality in Literature

    Rolfe Arnold Scott-James

British Dictionary definitions for objectiveness

objective

adjective
  1. existing independently of perception or an individual's conceptionsare 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
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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
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Abbreviation: objCompare: subjective
Derived Formsobjectival (ˌɒbdʒɛkˈtaɪvəl), adjectiveobjectively, adverbobjectivity or rare objectiveness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for objectiveness

objective

adj.

1610s, originally in the philosophical sense of "considered in relation to its object" (opposite of subjective), formed on pattern of Medieval Latin objectivus, from objectum "object" (see object (n.)) + -ive. Meaning "impersonal, unbiased" is first found 1855, influenced by German objektiv. Related: Objectively.

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objective

n.

1738, "something objective to the mind," from objective (adj.). Meaning "goal, aim" (1881) is from military term objective point (1852), reflecting a sense evolution in French.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
objectiveness in Medicine

objective

(əb-jĕk′tĭv)
n.
  1. The lens or lenses in the lower end of a microscope or other optical instrument that first receives light rays from the object being examined and forms its image.
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adj.
  1. Based on observable phenomena; presented factually.
  2. Indicating a symptom or condition perceived as a sign of disease by someone other than the person affected.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
objectiveness in Science

objective

[əb-jĕk′tĭv]
  1. The lens or mirror in a microscope or other optical instrument that first receives light rays from the object and forms the image.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.