Subjective — A Vocabulary Story
The Great Pizza Debate
Friday was pizza night at Renata's house, and pizza night always ended in an argument.
"Pineapple," said Renata, "is the best topping in the world."
"Pineapple is a disgrace," said her big brother Lucas.
"Olives," said Dad, who was ignored, as usual.
Renata's mum put the plates down and held up a hand. "Best is subjective," she said. "It depends on who is eating."
Subjective means based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions rather than facts; existing in a person's mind and not in the outside world.
Lucas frowned. "Some things are just true. The sky is blue. Pineapple does not belong on a pizza."
"The sky is blue is a fact," said Mum. "Pineapple is an opinion."
Renata liked this a lot. She spent the whole of Saturday testing it. Was the cat's favourite chair the best chair? The cat answered by sitting in a different one. Was Dad's singing in the car good? Dad said yes. Everyone else said no.
On Sunday, Lucas made the mistake of saying his favourite band was the best band ever.
"Subjective," said Renata sweetly.
"It is not! They've sold a million albums!"
"Best is subjective," said Renata. "A million is a fact. Ask Mum."
Mum, from the kitchen, said she was staying out of it.
Lucas went quiet for a bit. Then he cut a slice of Renata's leftover pineapple pizza, sniffed it, and took the smallest bite a person can take.
"Well?" said Renata.
He chewed for a long time. "It's not a disgrace," he said at last. "It's more of a mistake."
Renata decided that counted as a win, which, she admitted, was subjective too.
Word Definition
subjective
meaning
based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions rather than facts; existing in a person's mind and not in the outside world
synonyms
personal · biased · emotional · individual
antonyms
objective
example sentence
Beauty is a very subjective idea.