reductive

American  

[ri-duhk-tiv] / rɪˈdʌk tɪv /

adjective

1. of or relating to reduction; serving to reduce or abridge.

   an urgent need for reductive measures.

2. of or relating to change from one form to another.

   reductive chemical processes.

3. employing an analysis of a complex subject into a simplified, less detailed form; of, pertaining to, or employing reductionism; reductionistic.

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noun

1. something causing or inducing a reductive process.

Other Word Forms

• antireductive adjective
• nonreductive adjective
• reductively adverb
• reductiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of reductive

First recorded in 1625–35; reduct(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

The reductive strategy so nearly secured successive World Cup finals - but often proved soporific for supporters.

From BBC

The study’s approach is highly reductive, and the posted paper doesn’t offer a full list of cases and ratings.

From The Wall Street Journal

Biopics are “an exasperating genre,” Variety wrote, smushing some of “the planet’s most unorthodox personalities into a reductive, overly moralistic mold.”

From The Wall Street Journal

At the risk of being reductive, the problem is that these markets each want different things from Audi.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Fabbro’s wistful salute to bygone traditions has significant limitations, especially noticeable in the reductive design of his diametrically opposed main characters.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• diminishing
• diminutive
• minimal