ink blot
Symmetrical diagnostic smear
An ink blot is a spot or stain made by spilled or dropped ink.
The term is most associated with the Rorschach test, where subjects describe what they see in symmetrical ink blots—their interpretations supposedly revealing aspects of personality.
By extension, anything ambiguous that invites subjective interpretation might be called an ink blot: The candidate's vague platform was an ink blot onto which voters projected their hopes.
- RorschachProjective personality assessment
- personality testMeasures individual character traits
- stainLasting surface discoloration
- dark stainLasting discoloration mark
- splatterScatter in drops
psych evaluation · psychology · test · free association · smudge · blob · symmetry · perception · paper · black · white · butterfly · interpretation · unconscious · hidden meaning · spill · drip · pattern
- spotsspot, dot, fleck, mark, speck
- ink drawinglinework, line work, pen drawing, hatching, cross-hatching
- Inkinkwell, inkwells, inkstones, cartridges
- document errorstypos, typo, misspellings, misspelling, spelling errors
- scribal errorsmetathesis, interpolation, lacuna, omission, transposition
ink blotdrawing
Marks forming a picture
technical drawing · illustration · calligraphy · blueprint · diagram
ink, blot, inks, inked, inking, inky, inkier, inkiest, blots