# objective

Pronunciation: US say "uhb-JEK-tiv" /əbˈd͡ʒɛk.tɪv/; UK say "ob-JEK-tiv" /ɒbˈd͡ʒɛk.tɪv/

## Noun

1. A goal that someone works hard to achieve.
   - Simple: Something you are trying to reach or achieve.
   - _The general explained the operation's primary objective to his officers._
   - _Each department submitted its quarterly objectives last week._
5. A material thing that has actual physical existence.
   - Simple: A real thing that you can touch and that exists in the world.
   - _A materialist counts only an objective, a thing with mass and shape, as fully real._
   - _He drew a sharp line between mental images and the objectives they stand for._
6. The lens or lenses in a microscope, camera, or other optical device that sit closest to the thing being viewed.
   - Simple: The lens at the front of a microscope or camera, nearest to the thing you are looking at.
   - _The microscope's objective magnified the sample forty times._
   - _He cleaned each objective before mounting the slide._
8. The grammatical case used for a noun or pronoun functioning as the object of a verb or preposition.
   - Simple: In grammar, the form a word takes when it is the object of a verb.
   - _English marks the objective on pronouns such as 'him' and 'them'._
   - _Latin grammarians would map this role onto the accusative rather than the objective._
9. A noun or pronoun appearing in the objective case, such as 'me', 'her', or 'them'.
   - Simple: A word, like 'him' or 'them', used as the object of a verb.
   - _Each objective in the sentence answers the question 'whom?' or 'what?'._
   - _Editors corrected the subject pronouns that should have been objectives._

## Adjective

2. Based on observed facts rather than personal feelings or opinions.
   - Simple: Based on real facts, not on personal feelings.
   - _The committee wanted an objective assessment grounded in measurable data._
   - _Scientific findings should remain objective, resting on repeatable observations._
3. Judging fairly, without being swayed by strong feelings or personal bias.
   - Simple: Not changed by strong feelings or unfair opinions.
   - _Jurors must remain objective despite emotionally charged testimony._
   - _A reviewer should stay objective, setting aside any dislike of the author._
4. Relating to a material object or to actual existence and reality, independent of the mind.
   - Simple: Real and existing in the physical world, not just in the mind.
   - _The debate centered on whether moral values have any objective reality._
   - _Idealists deny that the world has an objective existence apart from perception._
7. Relating to a noun or pronoun that functions as the object of a verb.
   - Simple: Showing that a noun or pronoun is the object of a verb.
   - _The objective case marks pronouns like 'whom' and 'them'._
   - _Many languages distinguish subjective and objective forms of their nouns._
10. Relating to a verb conjugation that marks the object or patient of an action, as described for languages such as Tundra Nenets.
   - Simple: Showing a verb form that points to the object of an action.
   - _Tundra Nenets uses the objective conjugation when the object is definite._
   - _The objective paradigm differs from the subjective in its personal endings._

## Origin

From Middle English 'obgectyf', from Middle French 'objectif' and its Medieval Latin source 'obiectīvus'. It can be analyzed as 'object' plus the suffix '-ive'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/objective (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).