Etymology
Origin of objectivity
Explanation
Objectivity is a noun that means a lack of bias, judgment, or prejudice. Maintaining one's objectivity is the most important job of a judge. The meaning of objectivity is easy to remember, when you see that the word "object" embedded within it. While it can be hard to show objectivity about people or pets, it's easy to be more "objective" about objects. I can show objectivity about a box of rocks; it's much harder to show it with my dog. The opposite of objectivity is "subjectivity," which is personal bias or opinion.
Vocabulary lists containing objectivity
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Journalism
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"What Is News?" and "How to Detect Bias in the News"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These are unfortunate examples of how AI can lead to mistreatment of people because of technical flaws as well as misplaced human faith in the technology’s supposed objectivity.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
Phenomenologists argue that total objectivity is beyond us: We study the cosmos from within the cosmos, and consciousness from within consciousness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
You appear to have maintained your fairness and objectivity, and most of all your love and support for your children, regardless of their situations.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
The objectivity of figure skating judging is a controversy as old as the Olympics and a story for another day.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026
We might want to say that these virtues and this limit can be summed up in the word ‘objectivity’; but objectivity is a nineteenth-century concept and implies new ways of observing nature and recording information.
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.
