gestalt
/ɡəˈʃtɔlt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.65 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic elements that creates a whole, unified concept or pattern which is other than the sum of its parts due to the relationships between the parts (of a character, personality, entity, or being). [simplified] An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of gestalt.
Example Sentences
- "Mary did not approve of the Eleanor gestalt. "I been to Woonsocket S.D., Eleanor McGovern's hometown," she said, "and nobody there? I mean nobody? dresses like that.""
- "Thus one activity, talking, is understood in terms of another, physical fighting. Structuring our experience in terms of such multidimensional gestalts is what makes our experience coherent."
- "[…] depending on the kinds of speech children hear directed to them, they may first learn unanalyzed "gestalts" (e.g., social expressions like "What's that?" uttered as a single unit) instead of learning single words that are then freely recombined […]"
- "So different were our appearances and approaches and general gestalts that we had something of an epic rivalry from '74 through '77."
- "The clusters of behavioral gestalten... the probability factors... the subtypes of crimes... the constellations of criminal subtypes..."
- "Obviously it was related to the entire gestalt of Simon's polyphobia and compensatory counterphobia. The boys used to watch horror movies on late-night television […]"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Gestalt
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɡəˈʃtɔlt/
- British English: /ɡəˈʃtælt/