reductive
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to reduction; serving to reduce or abridge.
an urgent need for reductive measures.
-
of or relating to change from one form to another.
reductive chemical processes.
-
employing an analysis of a complex subject into a simplified, less detailed form; of, pertaining to, or employing reductionism; reductionistic.
noun
Other Word Forms
- antireductive adjective
- nonreductive adjective
- reductively adverb
- reductiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of reductive
First recorded in 1625–35; reduct(ion) + -ive
Explanation
Reductive things oversimplify information or leave out important details. A reductive argument won't win a debate, because it tries to make a complex issue much too simple. Your friend may recommend reading the "CliffsNotes" version of "Moby Dick," instead of the novel itself — but if you do, you'll only get a reductive summary of the plot and themes, instead of a long, nuanced book. Reductive shares a root with reduce, or "make smaller," the Latin reducere, "bring back." The earliest meaning of reductive was "that brings back."
Vocabulary lists containing reductive
I Was Their American Dream
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White Lies
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Black Birds in the Sky
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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.
"It defines the female sex without taking into account the biological specificities of intersex individuals, whose sexual characteristics present natural variations, leading to a reductive and potentially stigmatising approach," claimed French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
This distinguishes it unfavorably from the traditional western, which, however reductive or politically wrongheaded, has always known how to keep an audience interested.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Whether the videos are anti-AA or pro-AA, many are full of misinformation, reductive characterizations, evangelism, rage bait, and wannabe spiritual gurus.
From Slate • Sep. 10, 2025
“But right now, I’m more excited to be talking about ‘Poetic License’ and anything would be reductive to the conversation to talk about it in this context.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2025
I know only that I will never see him again, and that anything I can say or offer by way of his present life might well be taken as reductive and suspect.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
