objective

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: ob=jec=tive

CIDE DICTIONARY

objective, a. [Cf. F. objectif.].

•  Of or pertaining to an object.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of or pertaining to an object; contained in, or having the nature or position of, an object; outward; external; extrinsic; -- an epithet applied to whatever is exterior to the mind, or which is simply an object of thought or feeling, as opposed to being related to thoughts of feelings, and opposed to subjective.  [1913 Webster]

  "In the Middle Ages, subject meant substance, and has this sense in Descartes and Spinoza: sometimes, also, in Reid. Subjective is used by William of Occam to denote that which exists independent of mind; objective, what is formed by the mind. This shows what is meant by realitas objectiva in Descartes. Kant and Fichte have inverted the meanings. Subject, with them, is the mind which knows; object, that which is known; subjective, the varying conditions of the knowing mind; objective, that which is in the constant nature of the thing known."  [1913 Webster]

  "Objective has come to mean that which has independent existence or authority, apart from our experience or thought. Thus, moral law is said to have objective authority, that is, authority belonging to itself, and not drawn from anything in our nature."  [1913 Webster]
•  Unbiased; unprejudiced; fair; uninfluenced by personal feelings or personal interests; considering only the facts of a situation unrelated to the observer; -- of judgments, opinions, evaluations, conclusions, reasoning processes.  [PJC]

  "Objective means that which belongs to, or proceeds from, the object known, and not from the subject knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in opposition to that which is ideal -- what exists in nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the thought of the individual."  [1913 Webster]
•  Pertaining to, or designating, the case which follows a transitive verb or a preposition, being that case in which the direct object of the verb is placed. See Accusative, n.  [1913 Webster]

  " The objective case is frequently used without a governing word, esp. in designations of time or space, where a preposition, as at, in, on, etc., may be supplied."  [1913 Webster]

  "My troublous dream [on] this night doth make me sad."  [1913 Webster]

  "To write of victories [in or for] next year."  [1913 Webster]

  "In the philosophy of mind, subjective denotes what is to be referred to the thinking subject, the ego; objective what belongs to the object of thought, the non-ego."  [1913 Webster]

Objective line (Perspective), a line drawn on the geometrical plane which is represented or sought to be represented. -- Objective plane (Perspective), any plane in the horizontal plane that is represented. -- Objective point, the point or result to which the operations of an army are directed. By extension, the point or purpose to which anything, as a journey or an argument, is directed.

Syn. -- Objective, Subjective.

objective, n. 

•  The objective case.  [1913 Webster]
•  An object glass; called also objective lens. See under Object, n.  [1913 Webster]
•  Same as Objective point, under Objective, a.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

objective, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 external to the mind; actually existing; real.
2 (of a person, writing, art, etc.) dealing with outward things or exhibiting facts uncoloured by feelings or opinions; not subjective.
3 Gram. (of a case or word) constructed as or appropriate to the object of a transitive verb or preposition (cf. ACCUSATIVE).
4 aimed at (objective point).
5 (of symptoms) observed by another and not only felt by the patient.
--n.
1 something sought or aimed at; an objective point.
2 Gram. the objective case.
3 = object-glass.

Derivative

objectival adj. objectively adv. objectiveness n. objectivity n. objectivize v.tr. (also -ise). objectivization n.

Etymology

med.L objectivus (as OBJECT)

THESAURUS

objective

achromatic lens, affectless, aim, ambition, anesthetized, animus, appetence, appetency, appetite, arctic, aspiration, astigmatic lens, autistic, bauble, bibelot, blunt, burning glass, butt, by-end, by-purpose, camera, catatonic, chill, chilly, choice, coated lens, cold, cold as charity, cold-blooded, coldhearted, command, conation, conatus, concave lens, concavo-convex lens, condenser, convex lens, cool, corporeal, curio, decision, design, desire, destination, detached, determination, discretion, disinterested, dispassionate, disposition, drugged, dull, duty, emotionally dead, emotionless, end, end in view, equitable, evenhanded, external, extraneous, extraorganismal, extrinsic, eyeglass, eyepiece, fair, fancy, final cause, foreign, free choice, free will, frigid, frosted, frosty, frozen, function, game, gewgaw, gimcrack, glass, goal, gross, hand lens, heartless, hope, icy, immovable, impartial, impassible, impassive, impersonal, inclination, indifferent, inexcitable, insusceptible, intent, intention, judicious, just, lens, liking, lust, magnifier, magnifying glass, mark, material, meniscus, mind, neutral, nonemotional, nonsubjective, novelty, object, object glass, object in mind, objective prism, obtuse, ocular, open-handed, open-minded, out of touch, outer, outlying, outside, outward, passion, passionless, phenomenal, physical, pleasure, prey, prism, purpose, pursuit, quarry, quintain, reader, reading glass, reason for being, resolution, self-absorbed, sensible, sexual desire, soulless, spiritless, substantial, tangible, target, teleology, telephoto lens, toric lens, trinket, ultimate aim, unaffectionate, unbiased, unbigoted, uncolored, undazzled, unemotional, unfeeling, unimpassioned, unimpressionable, uninfluenced, unjaundiced, unloving, unpassionate, unprejudiced, unprepossessed, unresponding, unresponsive, unsusceptible, unswayed, unsympathetic, untouchable, use, varifocal lens, velleity, volition, whatnot, will, will power, wish, zoom lens

ROGET THESAURUS

objective

Extrinsicality

N extrinsicality, objectiveness, non ego, extraneousness, accident, appearance, phenomenon, derived from without, objective, extrinsic, extrinsical, extraneous, modal, adventitious, ascititious, adscititious, incidental, accidental, nonessential, contingent, fortuitous, implanted, ingrafted, inculcated, infused, outward, apparent, extrinsically.

Materiality

N materiality, materialness, corporeity, corporality, substantiality, substantialness, flesh and blood, plenum, physical condition, matter, body, substance, brute matter, stuff, element, principle, parenchyma, material, substratum, hyle, corpus, pabulum, frame, object, article, thing, something, still life, stocks and stones, materials, physics, somatology, somatics, natural philosophy, experimental philosophy, physicism, physical science, philosophie positive, materialism, materialist, physicist, somatism, somatist, material, bodily, corporeal, corporal, physical, somatic, somatoscopic, sensible, tangible, ponderable, palpable, substantial, objective, impersonal, nonsubjective, neuter, unspiritual, materialistic.