mindmap root((物体)) thing may apply not only to whatever can be known directly through the senses but also to something whose existence may be inferred from its signs and effects; in more restricted use it may refer to an entity existing in space and time as opposed to one existing only in thought: virtue is not a ~ but an attribute of a ~; or to an inanimate entity as opposed to living beings and especially persons: she treasures each ~ she buys. object stresses existence separate from the observer and typically applies to something that is or can be set before one to be viewed, considered, or contemplated: concentrated on the atom as an ~ of study; or that has body and usually substance and shape: stumbled over some unseen ~ in the dark room. article is used chiefly of objects that are thought of as members of a group or class: picked up several ~s of clothing that the boy had dropped.