Objection

How to spell objection

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce objection

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does objection mean?

1. nounA reason or statement expressing disagreement with or opposition to something.

Objection in a sentence

• The committee raised a formal objection to the proposed budget.

• She had no objection to working through the weekend.

Where does objection come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin objectio, meaning 'a throwing against' or 'an act of opposing'. It was built from the verb obicere, formed from ob- 'against' and iacere 'to throw', so an objection was literally something thrown in the path of an argument. The same iacere root quietly powers a whole family of English words, including 'reject' (throw back), 'inject' (throw in), and 'project' (throw forward), and spotting that buried 'ject' helps fix the spelling. English took the word from Old French objeccion in the 1300s, originally in religious and legal disputes where one side raised a formal challenge. The modern sense, a stated reason for disagreement, settled in soon after, and the courtroom use ('Objection!') keeps the older adversarial flavour alive.

How the word is built

• ob- (against)
• ject (throw, from Latin iacere)
• -ion (noun of action)