What does subjective mean?
Word: Subjective
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Subjective means based on your own feelings, tastes or opinions rather than on facts.
Synonyms: personal, individual
Antonyms: impartial
Word origin: Comes from Latin subjectivus, from subjectus 'placed under', from sub 'under' and jacere 'to throw'.
How do you spell subjective?
Syllables: sub - jec - tive
Tricky part: The c before the t is easy to drop when you say the word fast: subjetive is the usual slip.
Watch out for: subjetive, subjektive
Memory tip: Say it slowly enough to hear the k sound just before the t: that k sound is the c people drop.
Subjective in a sentence
Example 1: Whether mango or chikoo is the best fruit is a subjective question.
Example 2: Taste in music is subjective: my brother loves old film songs and I find them boring.
Example 3: My review of the film is subjective, so you may disagree.
Fun Fact
Subjective belongs to a family of English words built on Latin jacere 'to throw', along with reject, project and eject.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their opposites:
1. subjective 2. transparent 3. scarce a. opaque b. objective c. plentiful
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Subjective rests on feelings and objective on facts.
Word Fusion
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
___ject___ 1. sub 2. ad 3. mis 4. con 5. ive 6. ure 7. ful 8. ness
a) 3 and 6
b) 2 and 8
c) 4 and 7
d) 1 and 5
Show answer
d) 1 and 5. Sub + ject + ive gives subjective; none of the other pairs builds a real word.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order: u, e, i
a) s_bj_ct_ve
b) r_fl_ct_ve
c) pr_t_ct_ve
d) d_t_ct_ve
Show answer
a) s_bj_ct_ve. U, e and i complete the feelings word; reflective and detective need e, e, i and protective o, e, i.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
Choosing the best poem in the contest was a subjective task, and the judges argued for an hour before they agread on a winnar.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 1
d) 0
Show answer
a) 2. Agreed has a double e and winner a double n with -er; subjective is spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these statements is subjective?
a) Blue is the most beautiful colour.
b) Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level.
c) A week has seven days.
d) Delhi is the capital of India.
Show answer
a) Blue is the most beautiful colour.
2. Why do the judges of a painting contest often disagree?
a) the rules forbid agreement
b) paintings change colour overnight
c) every painting looks the same
d) taste in art differs from person to person
Show answer
d) taste in art differs from person to person
