Rorschach test

noun

variants or less commonly Rorschach or Rorschach inkblot test

: a projective psychological test that uses a subject's interpretation of 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies

Examples of Rorschach test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The abstract designs are a bit of a Rorschach test, evoking topographical lines on a map, the inside of a seashell, or whatever shape your brain creates. —Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 23 Jan. 2025

And his finest work, the 1990 television soap opera Twin Peaks, could also be considered a sensitive, comedic Rorschach test, given its all-American grotesqueries — the definition of his artistic expression. —Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2025

Their relationship is a maddening Rorschach test, a prism, a curious shape-shifting thing. —Carolyn Figel, Hazlitt, 27 Nov. 2024

Votto was often a Rorschach test for baseball fans. —C. Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Hermann Rorschach †1922 Swiss psychiatrist

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Rorschach test

noun

Ror·​schach test

ˈrȯ(ə)r-ˌshäk-

: a psychological test in which a person is asked to tell what he or she sees in and thinks about ink blots of varying designs and colors and which is used to measure certain traits of personality

Medical Definition

Rorschach test

noun

: a projective psychological test that uses a subject's interpretation of 10 standard black or colored inkblot designs to assess personality traits and emotional tendencies

called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test