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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Objected; p. pr. & vb. n. Objecting. ] [ L. objectus, p. p. of objicere, obicere, to throw or put before, to oppose; ob (see Ob-) + jacere to throw: cf. objecter. See Jet a shooting forth. ] 1. To set before or against; to bring into opposition; to oppose. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Of less account some knight thereto object,
Whose loss so great and harmful can not prove. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some strong impediment or other objecting itself. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pallas to their eyes
The mist objected, and condensed the skies. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To offer in opposition as a criminal charge or by way of accusation or reproach; to adduce as an objection or adverse reason. [ 1913 Webster ]

He gave to him to object his heinous crime. Spencer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Others object the poverty of the nation. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

The book . . . giveth liberty to object any crime against such as are to be ordered. Whitgift. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make opposition in words or argument; to express one's displeasure; -- usually followed by to; as, she objected to his vulgar language. Sir. T. More. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

a. [ L. objectus, p. p. ] Opposed; presented in opposition; also, exposed. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Such as can be presented in opposition; that may be put forward as an objection. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. representing as an object. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ Object + -fy. ] To cause to become an object; to cause to assume the character of an object; to represent or consider as an object; to render objective. J. D. Morell. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ L. objectio: cf. F. objection. ] 1. The act of objecting; as, to prevent agreement, or action, by objection. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is, or may be, presented in opposition; an adverse reason or argument; a reason for objecting; obstacle; impediment; as, I have no objection to going; unreasonable objections. “Objections against every truth.” Tyndale. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Cause of trouble; sorrow. [ Obs. or R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He remembers the objection that lies in his bosom, and he sighs deeply. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Exception; difficulty; doubt; scruple. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Liable to objection; likely to be objected to or disapproved of; offensive; as, objectionable words. -- Ob*jec"tion*a*bly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. One who adheres to, or is skilled in, the objective philosophy. Ed. Rev. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To objectify. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Converting into an object. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

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 ]

☞ 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. 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 ]

n. An object glass. See under Object, n. [ PJC ]

adv. In the manner or state of an object; as, a determinate idea objectively in the mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Objectivity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Is there such a motion or objectiveness of external bodies, which produceth light? Sir M. Hale [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. objectivité. ] The state, quality, or relation of being objective; character of the object or of the objective. [ 1913 Webster ]

The calm, the cheerfulness, the disinterested objectivity have disappeared [ in the life of the Greeks ]. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make an object of; to regard as an object; to place in the position of an object. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the latter, as objectized by the former, arise the emotions and affections. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having no object; purposeless. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., an accuser. ] One who objects; one who offers objections to a proposition or measure. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Computers) Using data structures called objects, which encapsulate data and typically are accessed by passing messages, which in turn may trigger internal procedures within the object which are invisible outside the object. [ PJC ]

n. (Computers) A computer program which has been translated into machine language by a compiler and assembler, but not yet linked into an executable program; sometimes called an obj file, because its file name typically has the extension “obj” . [ PJC ]

See high.
See honorable.
See hopeful.
See hostile.
See hurt.
See hhurtful.
See hygienic.
See ideal.
See idle.
See illusory.
See imaginable.
See imaginative.
See immortal.
See implicit.
See important.
See impressible. See >Unimpressible.
See impressionable.
See improvable.
See impugnable.
See incidental.
See increasable.
See indifferent.
See indulgent.
See industrious.
See inflammable.
See influential.
See ingenious.
See ingenuous.
See inhabitable.
See injurious.
See inquisitive.
See instructive.
See intelligent.
See intelligible.
See intentional.
See interesting.
See interpretable.
See inventive.
See investigable.
See jealous.
See joyful.
See joyous.
See justifiable.
See kingly.
See knightly.
See knotty.
See knowable.
See laborious.
See ladylike.
See level.
See libidinous.
See lightsome.
See limber.
See lineal.
See logical.
See lordly.
See losable.
See lovable.
See lucent.
See luminous.
See lustrous.
See lusty.
See maidenly.
See makable.
See malleable.
See manageable.
See manful.
See manlike.
See manly.
See marketable.
See marriable.
See marriageable.
See marvelous.
See masculine.
See matchable.
See matronlike.
See meek.
See meet.
See melodious.
See mendable.
See mentionable.
See mercenary.
See merciable.
See meritable.
See merry.
See metaphorical.
See mighty.
See mild.
See military.
See mindful.
See mingleable.
See miraculous.
See miry.
See mitigable.
See modifiable.
See modish.
See moist.
See monkish.
See motherly.
See muscular.
See musical.
See mysterious.
See namable.
See native.
See navigable.
See needful.
See negotiable.
See niggard.
See noble.
See objectionable.
[ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]