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
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
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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.
That’s reductive — the cookie doesn’t crumble quite so.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
"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
The study’s approach is highly reductive, and the posted paper doesn’t offer a full list of cases and ratings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
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.
