reductionism

re·duc·tion·ism

noun \ri-ˈdək-shə-ˌni-zəm\

Definition of REDUCTIONISM

1

: explanation of complex life-science processes and phenomena in terms of the laws of physics and chemistry; also : a theory or doctrine that complete reductionism is possible

2

: a procedure or theory that reduces complex data and phenomena to simple terms

— re·duc·tion·ist \-sh(ə-)nist\ noun or adjective

— re·duc·tion·is·tic \-ˌdək-shə-ˈnis-tik\ adjective

First Known Use of REDUCTIONISM

1943

Rhymes with REDUCTIONISM

absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, anachronism, Anglicanism, animalism, antagonism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, determinism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metabolism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obscurantism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism

re·duc·tion·ism

noun \ri-ˈdək-shə-ˌniz-əm\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of REDUCTIONISM

1

: the attempt to explain all biological processes by the same explanations (as by physical laws) that chemists and physicists use to interpret inanimate matter; also : the theory that complete reductionism is possible

2

: a procedure or theory that reduces complex data or phenomena to simple terms

—re·duc·tion·ist \-sh(ə-)nəst\ (audio pronunciation) or re·duc·tion·is·tic \-ˌdək-shə-ˈnis-tik\ (audio pronunciation) adjective