Rorschach test

noun

variants or less commonly Rorschach or Rorschach inkblot test

: a projective psychological test that uses a subject's interpretation of 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies

Examples of Rorschach test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His comments landed like a cultural Rorschach test, offering the most high-profile entry yet into an ongoing debate about whether alcohol is, primarily, a public health problem or a useful social crutch. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 24 Jan. 2026

So much to see, so much to consider in a place that has transformed into a Rorschach test for how some people see the challenges of Los Angeles. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Rodgers is football’s Rorschach test, one of the league’s most polarizing players. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026

Kleiger is a renowned author of three novels and six professional books on the Rorschach test, psychosis, and bipolar disorders. —News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Hermann Rorschach †1922 Swiss psychiatrist

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Rorschach test

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed

Kids Definition

Rorschach test

noun

Ror·​schach test

ˈrȯ(ə)r-ˌshäk-

: a psychological test in which a person is asked to tell what he or she sees in and thinks about ink blots of varying designs and colors and which is used to measure certain traits of personality

Medical Definition

Rorschach test

noun

: a projective psychological test that uses a subject's interpretation of 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies

called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test