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objective

If a police officer falls in love with a witness in a case, it might be hard for him to stay objective — that is, looking at things in a detached, impartial, fact-based way.

The opposite of objective is subjective, "influenced by personal feelings or opinions." Of course, an objective view isn't always preferable to a subjective one; it would be hard to imagine an art critic who stayed objective. The word comes from the Latin ob "against" + jacere "to throw"; an objective view is one that considers only things that have been "thrown against" your eyes, so to speak. Objective has also been used as a noun meaning "a goal," as in "military objectives."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: objective

1
 n
the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)
2
 adj
belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events
3
 adj
serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes
4
 n
the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope that is nearest the object being viewed
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: objective
1

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

Synonyms:
aim, object, target
Types:
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grail
the object of any prolonged endeavor
business
an immediate objective
point
the object of an activity
thing
a special objective
occasions
something you have to do
Type of:
end, goal
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it
2

adj belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events

“objective benefits”
“an objective example”
“there is no objective evidence of anything of the kind”
Synonyms
concrete
capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary

adj undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena

“an objective appraisal”
“objective evidence”
Synonyms:
nonsubjective
clinical
scientifically detached; unemotional
impersonal, neutral
having no personal preference
verifiable
capable of being verified
Antonyms:
subjective
taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias
personal
particular to a given individual
prejudiced
emanating from a person's emotions and prejudices
unobjective, unverifiable
(of e.g. evidence) not objective or easily verified
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adj emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, or interpretation

“objective art”
Synonyms:
documentary
existent, real
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
3

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

“objective case”
Synonyms:
accusative
4

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

Synonyms:
object glass, object lens, objective lens
Type of:
lens, lens system, lense
a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images
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