subjective

[suh b-jek-tiv] /səbˈdʒɛk tɪv/

adjective

existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought (opposed to objective).

pertaining to or characteristic of an individual; personal; individual:

a subjective evaluation.

placing excessive emphasis on one's own moods, attitudes, opinions, etc.; unduly egocentric.

Philosophy. relating to or of the nature of an object as it is known in the mind as distinct from a thing in itself.

relating to properties or specific conditions of the mind as distinguished from general or universal experience.

pertaining to the subject or substance in which attributes inhere; essential.

Grammar.

pertaining to or constituting the subject of a sentence.
(in English and certain other languages) noting a case specialized for that use, as He in He hit the ball.
similar to such a case in meaning.
Compare nominative.

Obsolete. characteristic of a political subject; submissive.

Origin

1400-50; late Middle English: pertaining to a subject of a ruler < Latin subjectīvus; see subject, -ive

Related forms

subjectively, adverb

subjectiveness, noun

nonsubjective, adjective

nonsubjectively, adverb

nonsubjectiveness, noun

quasi-subjective, adjective

quasi-subjectively, adverb

unsubjective, adjective

unsubjectively, adverb

Synonyms

1. mental. 6. substantial, inherent.

Examples from the web for subjective

Her work is almost wholly subjective, the emotional reaction to her own experience.
Mental maps are personal and idiosyncratic and are usually a mixture of both objective knowledge and subjective perceptions.
How meditation relieves the subjective experience of pain.
Neurology and science in general have totally failed thus far to explain consciousness, sentience, and the subjective experience.
Max was a fact-free zone, supremely confident and totally subjective.
In fact, to remove any subjective element, the scientists simply had a computer read the results based on an algorithm.
They happen to be subjective, ultimately aesthetic and emotional, but they can be tremendously serious.
These are purely subjective criteria based solely on the whims, fancies and fluctuating tastes of yours truly.
Your conclusions are highly subjective, in fact you admit in the last sentence that you are not an objective party.
Travel is, in some crucial way, a subjective emotional experience.

British Dictionary definitions for subjective

subjective

/səbˈdʒɛktɪv/

adjective

belonging to, proceeding from, or relating to the mind of the thinking subject and not the nature of the object being considered

of, relating to, or emanating from a person's emotions, prejudices, etc: subjective views

relating to the inherent nature of a person or thing; essential

existing only as perceived and not as a thing in itself

(med) (of a symptom, condition, etc) experienced only by the patient and incapable of being recognized or studied by anyone else

(grammar) denoting a case of nouns and pronouns, esp in languages having only two cases, that identifies the subject of a finite verb and (in formal use in English) is selected for predicate complements, as in It is I See also nominative (sense 1)

noun

(grammar)

the subjective case
a subjective word or speech element

Compare objective (sense 10)

subj

Derived Forms

subjectively, adverb
subjectivity, subjectiveness, noun

Word Origin and History for subjective

adj.

mid-15c., "pertaining to a political subject" (now obsolete), from Late Latin subjectivus, from subjectus (see subject (n.)). Meaning "existing in the mind" (mind="the thinking subject") is from 1707; thus, "personal idiosyncratic" (1767). Related: Subjectively.

subjective in Medicine

subjective sub·jec·tive (səb-jěk'tĭv)
adj.

Of, relating to, or designating a symptom or condition perceived by the patient and not by the examiner.
Existing only in the mind; illusory.

sub·jec'tive·ly adv.