projective

adjective pro·jec·tive \ prə-ˈjek-tiv \

Definition of projective

1 : relating to, produced by, or involving geometric projection

2 psychology : of, relating to, or being a technique, device, or test (such as the Rorschach test) that presents unstructured or ambiguous material (such as inkblots or sentence elements) to elicit interpretive responses revealing personality structure

The Rorschach came to be known as a projective technique—the subject projects his or her anxieties and desires onto ambiguous images …
—Sally Satel

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projectively

adverb

Recent Examples of projective from the Web

Even before the curtain lifted, Wendall Harrington’s visual storytelling added features of projective art that alternated from quirky to jaw-dropping.

— sean erwin, miamiherald, "Miami City Ballet’s new production, a ‘Nutcracker’ 2.0," 18 Dec. 2017
Minimizing projective risk is also the reason why contractors throughout South Florida spent Wednesday cleaning up job sites, removing materials that could go flying.

— alexandra clough, ajc, "Hurricane Irma: Will hurricane-resistant windows resist Irma?," 5 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'projective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of projective

1640

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

projective

adjective pro·jec·tive \ prə-ˈjek-tiv \

medical Definition of projective

: of, relating to, or being a technique, device, or test (as the Rorschach test) designed to analyze the psychodynamic constitution of an individual by presenting unstructured or ambiguous material (as inkblots, pictures, and sentence elements) that will elicit interpretive responses revealing personality structure