conducive

adjective

con·​du·​cive kən-ˈdü-siv 

-ˈdyü-

: tending to promote or assist

an atmosphere conducive to education

conduciveness noun

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Something conducive "leads to" a desirable result. A cozy living room may be conducive to relaxed conversation, just as a boardroom may be conducive to more intense discussions. Particular tax policies are often conducive to savings and investment, whereas others are conducive to consumer spending. Notice that conducive is almost always followed by to.

Synonyms of conducive

• favorable
• helpful
• beneficial
• facilitative

Examples of conducive in a Sentence

… air-conditioner cooling towers on the roof provided a conducive summertime abode, from which the germs circulated throughout the edifice in a fine infectious mist. —Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs, 1995

To the extent to which the political realm is more conducive to rational choice, compared with the social realm which is governed by material and economic concerns, it is in politics that the potentiality for freedom lies. —Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987

It was a hard time, and not conducive to obedience and warmth, and fairly soon I was tucked into a kindly concentration camp for budding Christians … —M. F. K. Fisher, Journal of Gastronomy, Summer 1984

The small hat of woven green plastic raffia, the jazzy short-sleeved shirt (fundamentally orange), the pale blue shorts, were not garments conducive to dignity. —A. N. Wilson, Scandal or Priscilla's Kindness, 1983

the claim that the state's long-standing antitax attitude is conducive to entrepreneurship

the noisy environment of the dorms was not very conducive to studying

Recent Examples on the Web

Another tropical wave is located just off the west African coast and is not well organized at this time, but there are fairly conducive conditions ahead of it. — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

The low-friction surface and dry desert air are conducive to speed and have beckoned drivers since the first race there in 1914. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

That stalemate would eventually move from Los Angeles City Hall to the state Capitol, where the legislative process proved more conducive to negotiation. — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Based on the latest update from the hurricane center, environmental conditions are conducive for further development of this system into a tropical cyclone by the middle of this week. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

conduce + -ive

Note: English derivatives with -ive are normally formed from the past participle of a Latin verb. The adjective conducive is an exception. Presumably this is the case because conduct entry 1 already existed as a verb, but it lacked an original sense of Latin condūcere, "to tend to support, be of advantage (to)"—so that conductive would not convey the right meaning. The alternative was to form an -ive adjective directly from the verb.

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conducive

• abusive
• allusive
• collusive
• conclusive
• delusive
• diffusive
• elusive
• exclusive
• extrusive
• illusive
• inclusive
• intrusive