reductionist

American  

[ri-duhk-shuh-nist] / rɪˈdʌk ʃəˌnɪst /

adjective

1. based on or explained by an analysis of the simplest or most basic factors of a complex phenomenon.

   A reductionist experiment is essential to isolating the impact of a single variable on the ecosystem as a whole.

2. simplistic to the point of minimizing, obscuring, or distorting a complex idea, issue, or condition.

   Both stories describe the same reality, but your reductionist version fails to capture the full truth.

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noun

1. a person who believes that everything can be explained by reducing complex ideas or issues to their simplest component parts.

   To reductionists, all other worldviews are unscientific and sloppy, so they often choose to ignore evidence from observational studies.

Other Word Forms

• reductionistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of reductionist

reduction ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

"He wanted somebody whose mind wasn't messed up by the reductionist attitude of science to animals," she said.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 2025

As this whale of an example suggests, the reductionist framework has profound consequences.

From Scientific American • Nov. 8, 2023

More broadly, we should consider whether these methods of assessing job applicants are promoting excessively reductionist views of human abilities.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2023

This is what we call a reductionist approach to nutrition, where we describe a food based on just one of its key components.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2023

“Now, the witch doesn’t take kindly to this perspective. Personally, I don’t blame her. It’s reductionist, it’s elitist, and it’s just plain icky. So the witch goes from zero to a hundred—and curses Benefo.”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer