gestalt

noun

ge·​stalt gə-ˈstält 

-ˈshtält, 

-ˈstȯlt, 

-ˈshtȯlt 

plural gestalts also gestalten gə-ˈstäl-tᵊn 

-ˈshtäl-, 

-ˈstȯl-, 

-ˈshtȯl-

: something that is made of many parts and yet is somehow more than or different from the combination of its parts

When he gets rolling, you're not responding to single jokes—it's the whole gestalt of the movie that's funny.

—Pauline Kael

broadly : the general quality or character of something

When new employees are recruited fresh out of college and can look forward to working for the same company for 40 years, it changes the gestalt of management.

—Brenton R. Schlender

… the Old Hollywood gestalt, where daughters adored and romanticized their charismatic, powerful, often unavailable fathers.

—Nora Johnson

Examples of gestalt in a Sentence

the gestalt of human consciousness

Recent Examples on the Web

Kennedy has leaned heavily into his work on changing eating habits, which fits into the MAHA gestalt and polls well with both Democratic and Republican voters. —Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026

His stance was rooted in gestalt therapy’s focus on the here and now, on personal responsibility and direct experience rather than magical thinking. —Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026

These recipes center the season’s finest ingredients, using techniques and sauces to complement — not overwhelm — their pristine gestalt. —Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 26 Mar. 2026

This achievement can only be the product of an obsessive, near-philosophical approach to the sandwich as a composition, to the gestalt of the bite. —Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

German, literally, shape, form

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gestalt

• asphalt
• assault
• basalt
• cobalt
• default
• exalt
• alt
• fault
• gault
• halt
• malt
• sault

Medical Definition

gestalt

noun

ge·​stalt gə-ˈs(h)tält  -ˈs(h)tȯlt 

plural gestalten -ᵊn  or gestalts

: a structure, arrangement, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts