reduced
Americanadjective
-
made smaller, lower, or less; diminished.
Individuals who experience depression have reduced levels of serotonin in their brains.
-
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
Derived 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 studies involving mice, the treatment reduced nerve cell loss, helped the animals live longer, and targeted a biological process that existing Alzheimer's drugs do not address.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
They said a major incident has been declared by the LFB and that trains are running at reduced speed in the area.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
She reduced the price to $10 million after about a year, and the home was eventually sold in 2019 for $8.1 million.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Goldman Sachs estimates global demand fell 4% to 5% in April due to reduced flows through the Strait of Hormuz, citing weaker consumption in China and Western Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
She was reduced to eating the pumpkin leaves when every one of the new vegetables was devoured by beetles.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions 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.
