gestalt

American  

[guh-shtahlt, -shtawlt, -stahlt, -stawlt] / gəˈʃtɑlt, -ˈʃtɔlt, -ˈstɑlt, -ˈstɔlt /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

plural

gestalts, gestalten

1. a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.

2. an instance or example of such a unified whole.

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Gestalt British  

/ ɡəˈʃtælt /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a perceptual pattern or structure possessing qualities as a whole that cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts See also Gestalt psychology

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Etymology

Origin of gestalt

1920–25; < German: figure, form, structure

Example Sentences

Sentiment is consistent with the Muppets gestalt, but not really part of “The Muppet Show.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

The guides, it said, reflect “the whole gestalt of India’s association with sky and space.”

From Science Magazine • Nov. 7, 2023

“It’s interesting to think about work not just as something that gets locked into a gestalt of an image,” Mr. Pardo said excitedly.

From New York Times • May 5, 2023

"Almost no individual element of this was original—beans and greens have been the stuff of dinner since beans and greens began—and yet the gestalt had something to it, something unexpectedly right."

From Salon • Jan. 16, 2023

Hanson also preceded Kuhn in stressing the importance of gestalt psychology and in laying emphasis on the philosophy of Wittgenstein.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• composition
• contour
• shape
• structure