Objective
Etymology
From medieval Latin "objectivus," from "objectum" (thing thrown before the mind), from Latin "obicere" — "ob-" (against) plus "iacere" (to throw). Strangely, in scholastic philosophy "objective" once meant existing only as an object in the mind (roughly what we now call subjective), while "subjective" meant existing in the thing itself; the two words later swapped sides entirely.
adjective · /ob-JEK-tiv/
Independent of any one observer’s feelings or vantage point — true regardless of who is looking.
What it names
Reach for it to claim that something holds outside your own head — measurements, facts, standards that would survive if you disappeared.
Example
She wanted an objective test — one that would give the same score no matter who graded it.
Related idea
The near-twin is subjective: subjective claims report how something seems to a particular mind, objective ones claim to describe how it is regardless. People fake objectivity by dressing a subjective judgment in neutral language.
noun · /ob-JEK-tiv/
A goal or aim that one works toward.
What it names
an intended target or purpose
Example
The team set clear objectives for the quarter.
Related idea
The thing aimed at, distinct from the observer-independent sense of the adjective.
noun · /ob-JEK-tiv/
The lens in a microscope or telescope nearest the object being viewed.
What it names
the primary light-gathering lens of an instrument
Example
She switched to the higher-power objective to see the cells.
Related idea
Named from the same "ob-ject" root as the adjective — the lens turned toward the object viewed — this is the far lens that gathers the image, opposite the eyepiece you actually look through.
See also