subjective
adjective
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Definition of subjective
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : of, relating to, or constituting a subject: such as
a obsolete : of, relating to, or characteristic of one that is a subject especially in lack of freedom of action or in submissiveness
b : being or relating to a grammatical subject especially : nominative
2 : of or relating to the essential being of that which has substance, qualities, attributes, or relations
3a : characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind : phenomenal — compare objective sense 1b
b : relating to or being experience or knowledge as conditioned by personal mental characteristics or states
b : arising from conditions within the brain or sense organs and not directly caused by external stimuli subjective sensations
c : arising out of or identified by means of one's perception of one's own states and processes a subjective symptom of disease — compare objective sense 1c
5 : lacking in reality or substance : illusory
subjective
noun
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Definition of subjective (Entry 2 of 2)
: something that is subjective also : nominative
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Other words from subjective
Adjective
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for subjective
Synonyms: Adjective
idiomatic, individual, individualized, particular, patented, peculiar, personal, personalized, private, privy, separate, singular, unique
Antonyms: Adjective
general, generic, popular, public, shared, universal
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Examples of subjective in a Sentence
Adjective
Art is never a commodity. Commodities are identical units of sure value—bushels of wheat, say—whose price fluctuates from time to time and place to place. Art works are one-of-a-kind … items, materially worthless, which have in common that a price is asked for them. Their value is entirely subjective. —Peter Schjedlahl, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2009 Our perception of loudness is subjective, but sound has an intensity, independent of our hearing, that is measured in decibels (dB). —Jennifer Barone, Discover, July/August 2009 Science is the study of facts—things that are measurable, testable, repeatable, verifiable. I won't bore you with the inevitable discussion of objective reality and how it's ultimately unknowable because we filter it through our individual subjective realities, I'll cut directly to the chase. Science is about the stuff we can agree on. Rocks are hard, water is wet. —David Gerrold, Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 2005 Besides, I am not doing this for the anthropology. My aim is nothing so mistily subjective as to "experience poverty" or find out how it "really feels" to be a long-term low-wage worker. —Barbara Ehrenreich, Harper's, January 1999 Dreaming is a subjective experience. a person's subjective perception of the world Personal taste in clothing is very subjective. In reviewing applicants, we consider both objective criteria, such as test scores, and subjective criteria, such as leadership ability. Law can be maddeningly subjective. So much is left up to your own interpretation.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
McDonald says the criteria the panel uses to judge selections are subjective. — Constance Grady, Vox, "How a book can become a hit before it’s even finished," 30 May 2018 Almost all of the substances on the WADA Prohibited List are detected with tests that have some kind of subjective interpretation. — Joe Lindsey, Outside Online, "The Chris Froome Ruling Just Broke Anti-Doping," 3 July 2018 This said, the party could try to ameliorate the subjective conditions fueling its struggles with culturally conservative whites. — Eric Leivtz, Daily Intelligencer, "For Democrats, Immigration Is a Political Problem Without a Policy Solution," 2 July 2018 For most autism video games under development, the results of studies so far provide only indirect or subjective evidence for the games’ effectiveness. — Sarah Deweerdt, Science | AAAS, "Can science-based video games help kids with autism?," 22 June 2018 In their brief but harsh critiques, Della Sala, McIntosh, and Cubelli argue that the evidence for cognitive deficits in the US workers is weak and that the Penn medical team used subjective and inappropriate criteria for their assessment. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "US pulls two more from Cuba amid puzzling health cases now affecting China," 11 June 2018 Here is an overview of the perks offered by casinos in the San Diego area, including a highly subjective pick of the best benefit. — Michele Parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Casino players clubs: loyalty has its perks," 29 Apr. 2018 Besides, whether something doesn’t work or not is very subjective. — Lisa Scottoline, Philly.com, "Wrecking stuff would make me a nervous wreck | Lisa Scottoline," 12 July 2018 True, grading a writing test is more subjective than scoring a multiple-choice test. — Naomi Schaefer Riley, WSJ, "Save the SAT Writing Test," 8 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'subjective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for subjective
subjective
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of subjective
philosophy : relating to the way a person experiences things in his or her own mind
: based on feelings or opinions rather than facts
grammar : relating to nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns that are the subjects of verbs
See the full definition for subjective in the English Language Learners Dictionary
subjective
adjective
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Kids Definition of subjective
: based mainly on opinions or feelings rather than on facts a subjective report
subjective
adjective
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Medical Definition of subjective
1a : relating to or determined by the mind as the subject of experience subjective reality
b : characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind
c : relating to or being experience or knowledge as conditioned by personal mental characteristics or states
2a : arising from conditions within the brain or sense organs and not directly caused by external stimuli subjective sensations
b : arising out of or identified by means of one's perception of one's own states and processes and not observable by an examiner a subjective symptom of disease caused objective or subjective clinical improvement or both —Journal of the American Medical Association — compare objective sense 2
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