OBJECTIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does objective mean? 

• OBJECTIVE (noun)
  The noun OBJECTIVE has 2 senses:

1. the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)

2. the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope that is nearest the object being viewed

  Familiarity information: OBJECTIVE used as a noun is rare.

• OBJECTIVE (adjective)
  The adjective OBJECTIVE has 4 senses:

1. undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena

2. serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes

3. emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation

4. belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events

  Familiarity information: OBJECTIVE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OBJECTIVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

aim; object; objective; target

Context example:

the sole object of her trip was to see her children

Hypernyms ("objective" is a kind of...):

end; goal (the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "objective"):

grail (the object of any prolonged endeavor)

business (an immediate objective)

point (the object of an activity)

thing (a special objective)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope that is nearest the object being viewed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

object glass; object lens; objective; objective lens

Hypernyms ("objective" is a kind of...):

lens; lens system; lense (a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images)

Holonyms ("objective" is a part of...):

compound microscope (light microscope that has two converging lens systems: the objective and the eyepiece)

optical telescope (an astronomical telescope designed to collect and record light from cosmic sources)

• OBJECTIVE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena

Synonyms:

nonsubjective; objective

Context example:

objective evidence

Similar:

clinical (scientifically detached; unemotional)

impersonal; neutral (having no personal preference)

verifiable (capable of being verified)

Antonym:

subjective (taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias)

Derivation:

objectiveness; objectivity (judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

accusative; objective

Context example:

accusative endings

Domain category:

grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))

Pertainym:

objective case (the case of nouns serving as the direct object of a verb)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation

Context example:

objective art

Similar:

existent; real (being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory)

Derivation:

objectivity (judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events

Context example:

there is no objective evidence of anything of the kind

Similar:

concrete (capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary)

 Context examples 

The primary objective of the "New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT)" CNS Consortium is to improve the therapeutic outcome for adults with primary brain tumors.

(New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy Consortium, NCI Thesaurus)

The primary objective of the organization is to conduct clinical trials of new therapies for childhood cancer.

(Children's Oncology Group, NCI Thesaurus)

An organization whose primary objective is to support some issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes.

(Nonprofit Organization, NCI Thesaurus)

A portion of a study containing one or more study segments with a consistent objective such as screening subjects or treating disease.

(Clinical Trial Epoch, NCI Thesaurus)

Three specific aims are proposed to accomplish this objective.

(Molecular Epidemiology of Prostate Cancer, NCI Thesaurus)

The objective was to evaluate changes in vitamin D in the blood over four weeks in two groups of premature infants born between 24 to 32 weeks gestation.

(Higher Dose of Vitamin D Increases Bone Density in Premature Babies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Is it possible that love is all subjective, or all objective?

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

MPAM includes terms in the objective function to penalize the small between-group distances.

(Modified Partitioning Around Medoids, NCI Thesaurus)

The mission objectives of the two small MarCOs which relayed InSight's telemetry was completed after their Martian flyby.

(NASA InSight Lander Arrives on Martian Surface, NASA)

With eight out of ten heavenly bodies in earth signs, you will need to be practical, organized, and objective.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)