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

These are people whose subjectivity is defined by their act of spectatorship. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025

There is some upside to taking the subjectivity out of the CFP process. —Ralph D. Russo, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

This subjectivity — the reliance on human judgement in the absence of crystal clear, objective data — opens the door to all sorts of cognitive biases and errors long documented by behavioral economists and psychologists. —Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 17 Dec. 2024

The sale of The Comedian highlights the subjectivity of art and the value of intellectual property over physical permanence. —Lilian Raji, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subjectivity

• absorptivity
• affectivity
• collectivity
• conductivity
• connectivity
• corrosivity
• creativity
• diffusivity
• directivity
• effectivity
• emissivity
• exclusivity

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)