reductive

[ ri-duhk-tiv ]

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.

noun

1. something causing or inducing a reductive process.

Other Words From

• re·ductive·ly adverb
• re·ductive·ness noun
• anti·re·ductive adjective
• nonre·ductive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reductive¹

First recorded in 1625–35; reduct(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

For Steele, who admits that she loves an “aggressive approach” when it comes to discussing trans rights, “ ‘normalizing’ is a reductive word that puts queer people in a place.

From Los Angeles Times

Simplifying art’s mysterious complexities to isolate a work’s basic scientific elements risks being reductive.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a reductive argument that not only dismisses the very real emotions and pressures of political life but also enforces toxic standards of stoicism that have no place in a modern democracy.

From Salon

Because the Republicans view campaigns as reductive and negative, and they're really having trouble processing how to counter that.

From Salon

Biography, framed by dramatic events, often overwhelms the paintings and sculptures, which are admired for the reductive ways in which they illuminate the artist’s tumultuous life.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• diminishing
• diminutive
• minimal
• subtractive