Standard Lemma guide

subjective

adj · noun · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /səbˈd͡ʒɛktɪv/
  • /sʌbˈd͡ʒɛktɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛktɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH0 B JH EH1 K T IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Formed, as in opinions, based upon a person's feelings or intuition, rather than upon observation or purely logical reasoning; coming more from within the observer than from observations of the external environment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Pertaining to subjects as opposed to objects (A subject is one who perceives or is aware; an object is the thing perceived or the thing that the subject is aware of.)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Resulting from or pertaining to personal mindsets or experience, arising from perceptive mental conditions within the brain and not necessarily or directly from external stimuli.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Lacking in reality or substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

As used by Carl Jung, the innate worldview orientation of the introverted personality types.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Mind-dependent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Experienced by a person mentally and not directly verifiable by others.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, psychology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adj

Meaning 8

Describing conjugation of a verb that indicates only the subject (agent), not indicating the object (patient) of the action. (In linguistic descriptions of Tundra Nenets, among others.)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

The subjective case.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A noun or pronoun in the subjective case.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective

Meaning 11

of a mental act performed entirely within the mind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a cognition is an immanent act of mind

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: immanent

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective

Meaning 12

taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a subjective judgment

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: objective

History

Etymology

From Latin subiectīvus, equivalent to subject + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

41 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: սուբյեկտիվ (subyektiv) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Asturian: suxetivu — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Belarusian: суб'екты́ўны (subʺjektýwny) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Bulgarian: субекти́вен (subektíven) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Catalan: subjectiu — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Chinese Mandarin: 主觀 /主观 (zhǔguān) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Czech: subjektivní — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Danish: subjektiv — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Dutch: subjectief — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Esperanto: subjektiva — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Finnish: subjektiivinen — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • French: subjectif — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Galician: subxectivo — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • German: subjektiv — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Greek: υποκειμενικός (ypokeimenikós) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Hindi: आत्मनिष्ठ (ātmaniṣṭh) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Italian: subiettivo — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Japanese: 主観的 (shukanteki) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Kazakh: субъективтік (subektivtık) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Kazakh: субъектілік (subektılık) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Korean: 주관적 (jugwanjeok) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Macedonian: субјективен (subjektiven) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Polish: subiektywny — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Portuguese: subjetivo — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Romanian: subiectiv — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Russian: субъекти́вный (subʺjektívnyj) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Slovak: subjektívny — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Slovene: subjektiven — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Slovene: pristranski — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Spanish: subjetivo — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Turkish: öznel — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Ukrainian: суб'єкти́вний (subʺjektývnyj) — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Welsh: goddrychol — based upon subjective feelings or intuition
  • Welsh: goddrychol — lacking in reality or substance
  • Welsh: goddrychol — as used by Carl Jung
  • German: subjektiv — experienced by a person mentally
  • Polish: subiektywny — experienced by a person mentally
  • Welsh: goddrychol — experienced by a person mentally
  • Bulgarian: подложен (podložen) — indicating the grammatical subject
  • Welsh: goddrychol — indicating the grammatical subject
  • Welsh: gwrthrychol — indicating the grammatical subject
Real reading context

subjective in complete knowledge articles

Emotion perception People & society · Advanced · 12 uses