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

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

“I think the most reductive view of Guiteau is ‘chaotic evil,’ right?

From Los Angeles Times

Spending the next 10 years lamenting Madigan’s potential snub would be nothing more than reductive, implying that her work is only worthy if it’s awarded by stuffy voters who maintain little respect for horror, anyway.

From Salon

Related Words

• diminishing
• diminutive
• minimal