reduced
Americanadjective
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made smaller, lower, or less; diminished.
Individuals who experience depression have reduced levels of serotonin in their brains.
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Mathematics. noting a polynomial equation in which the second highest power is missing.
The cubic equation x3 − 4x + 4 = 0 is reduced.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reduced
Explanation
A reduced thing has been lessened or subtracted from. If you want to ride your bike in Italy and you’re on a budget, look for reduced airfare. For a reduced risk of injury, wear a helmet when you get there. To reduce something is to make it smaller or lessen it in some way. Therefore, anything reduced is smaller than it was before. If you’re pedaling your way through Italy and hit a giant hill, you’ll probably have reduced pedal power and go much slower. This word applies to things that are going down in degree or amount. There could be reduced pain, reduced cost, or reduced size. Anything described as reduced can also be called decreased.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In earlier experiments, Gross's team reduced the activity of MTCH2 in the muscles of mice.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
She was convicted last year of embezzlement but reduced her sentence on appeal by enough to run again.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2026
Immunotherapies such as Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo have substantially reduced the number of deaths attributed to melanoma since being approved over a decade ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
“If the neoclouds fail to lift off, that doubles back on Nvidia with reduced sales and even more reduced margins,” Goldberg said, referring to a key measure of profitability.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
In the election, nearly reduced to a sideshow, Wense Grabarek won by 2,245 votes.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
