subjectivity

noun

sub·​jec·​tiv·​i·​ty (ˌ)səb-ˌjek-ˈti-və-tē 

: the quality, state, or nature of being subjective

Any attempt to link landscapes and music together can suffer from some measure of subjectivity.

—David J. Keeling

He thinks that scientists and philosophers have unjustly neglected the subjectivity of conscious experience and that this has made it harder for them to explain some of the workings of the mind.

—Anthony Gottlieb

Examples of subjectivity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Ross employs his method to create a depth of subjectivity that matches Whitehead’s language, and an intense physicality that surpasses the familiar tropes of cinematic representation. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2025

Investments will need to address both the technical and cultural barriers to entry but could result in a less controversial game where referee subjectivity is minimized. —Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Rankings like this are never without subjectivity; one fan’s joy is another’s pain. —Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 25 Aug. 2024

Next, the team wanted to quantify how effectively this information was communicated to the listener, a task made more difficult by the innate subjectivity of human perception. —Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

subjectivity

noun

sub·​jec·​tiv·​i·​ty ˌsəb-jek-ˈtiv-ət-ē 

plural subjectivities

1

: subjective character, quality, state, or nature

2

: the personal qualities of an investigator that affect the outcome of scientific or medical research (as by unconsciously communicating a bias to the subject of the experiment)