Objective

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Object \Ob"ject\ ([o^]b"j[e^]kt), n. [L. objectus. See {Object},
     v. t.]
     1. That which is put, or which may be regarded as put, in the
        way of some of the senses; something visible or tangible
        and persists for an appreciable time; as, he observed an
        object in the distance; all the objects in sight; he


        touched a strange object in the dark.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Anything which is set, or which may be regarded as set,
        before the mind so as to be apprehended or known; that of
        which the mind by any of its activities takes cognizance,
        whether a thing external in space or a conception formed
        by the mind itself; as, an object of knowledge, wonder,
        fear, thought, study, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Object is a term for that about which the knowing
              subject is conversant; what the schoolmen have
              styled the "materia circa quam."      --Sir. W.
                                                    Hamilton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The object of their bitterest hatred. --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. That toward which the mind, or any of its activities, is
        directed; that on which the purpose are fixed as the end
        of action or effort; that which is sought for; goal; end;
        aim; motive; final cause.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Object, beside its proper signification, came to be
              abusively applied to denote motive, end, final cause
              . . . . This innovation was probably borrowed from
              the French.                           --Sir. W.
                                                    Hamilton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Let our object be, our country, our whole country,
              and nothing but our country.          --D. Webster.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Sight; show; appearance; aspect. [Obs.] --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He, advancing close
              Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose
              In glorious object.                   --Chapman.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Gram.) A word, phrase, or clause toward which an action
        is directed, or is considered to be directed; as, the
        object of a transitive verb.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Computers) Any set of data that is or can be manipulated
        or referenced by a computer program as a single entity; --
        the term may be used broadly, to include files, images
        (such as icons on the screen), or small data structures.
        More narrowly, anything defined as an object within an
        object-oriented programming language.
        [PJC]
  
     7. (Ontology) Anything which exists and which has attributes;
        distinguished from {attributes}, {processes}, and
        {relations}.
        [PJC]
  
     {Object glass}, the lens, or system of lenses, placed at the
        end of a telescope, microscope, etc., which is toward the
        object. Its function is to form an image of the object,
        which is then viewed by the eyepiece. Called also
        {objective} or {objective lens}. See Illust. of
        {Microscope}.
  
     {Object lesson}, a lesson in which object teaching is made
        use of.
  
     {Object staff}. (Leveling) Same as {Leveling staff}.
  
     {Object teaching}, a method of instruction, in which
        illustrative objects are employed, each new word or idea
        being accompanied by a representation of that which it
        signifies; -- used especially in the kindergarten, for
        young children.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Objective \Ob*jec"tive\ ([o^]b*j[e^]k"t[i^]v), a. [Cf. F.
     objectif.]
     1. Of or pertaining to an object.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Metaph.) 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 +PJC]
  
              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.                                --Trendelenburg.
        [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.                           --Calderwood
                                                    (Fleming's
                                                    Vocabulary).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Hence: 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.            --Sir. W.
                                                    Hamilton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Gram.) 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]
  
     Note: 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.                               --Shak.
           [1913 Webster]
  
                 To write of victories [in or for] next year.
                                                    --Hudibras.
           [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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: {Objective}, {Subjective}.
  
     Usage: Objective is applied to things exterior to the mind,
            and objects of its attention; subjective, to the
            operations of the mind itself. Hence, an objective
            motive is some outward thing awakening desire; a
            subjective motive is some internal feeling or
            propensity. Objective views are those governed by
            outward things; subjective views are produced or
            modified by internal feeling. Sir Walter Scott's
            poetry is chiefly objective; that of Wordsworth is
            eminently subjective.
            [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.             --Sir. W.
                                                    Hamilton
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Objective \Ob*jec"tive\, n.
     1. (Gram.) The objective case.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. An {object glass}; called also {objective lens}. See under
        {Object}, n.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Same as {Objective point}, under {Objective}, a.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  objective
       adj 1: undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable
              phenomena; "an objective appraisal"; "objective
              evidence" [syn: {nonsubjective}] [ant: {subjective}]
       2: serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain
          prepositions and used for certain other purposes;
          "objective case"; "accusative endings" [syn: {accusative}]
       3: emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without
          distortion of personal feelings or interpretation;
          "objective art"
       4: belonging to immediate experience of actual things or
          events; "concrete benefits"; "a concrete example"; "there
          is no objective evidence of anything of the kind"
       n 1: the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to
            be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see
            her children" [syn: {aim}, {object}, {target}]
       2: the lens or system of lenses nearest the object being viewed
          [syn: {object glass}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  183 Moby Thesaurus words for "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