irreducible

[ir-i-doo-suh-buhl, -dyoo-]

adjective

1. not reducible; incapable of being reduced or of being diminished or simplified further.

   the irreducible minimum.

2. incapable of being brought into a different condition or form.

3. Mathematics.

   1. of or relating to a polynomial that cannot be factored.

   2. of or relating to a group that cannot be written as the direct product of two of its subgroups.

irreducible

/ ˌɪrɪˈdjuːsɪbəl /

adjective

1. not able to be reduced or lessened

2. not able to be brought to a simpler or reduced form

3. maths

   1. (of a polynomial) unable to be factorized into polynomials of lower degree, as ( x ² + 1)

   2. (of a radical) incapable of being reduced to a rational expression, as √( x + 1)

Other Word Forms

• irreducibility noun
• irreducibleness noun
• irreducibly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of irreducible¹

First recorded in 1625–35; ir- ² + reducible

Example Sentences

For so many Labour MPs, that safety net, and a passionate commitment to it, form their irreducible core.

From BBC

From there, officials are still confident that the remaining truly unidentified cases, which are down to an "irreducible minimum," do not constitute threats to the public.

From Salon

I realize this is heresy, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the irreducible strangeness of the drama.

From Los Angeles Times

The larger the integrated information, the more the circuit is irreducible, the less it can be considered just the superposition of independent subcircuits.

From Scientific American

There’s a gap — or a lag, maybe — between how new technologies can reduce our personhood to data, and the irreducible facts of our bodies, our health, our need to eat and sleep.

From New York Times