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

Certain beauty and skincare essentials aren’t conducive to being poured into reusable bottles, but for the ones that are—like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and face wash—refillable silicone bottles save an enormous amount of space in a toiletry bag. —Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 9 May 2026

In December, Bacal gave the city 120 days to release a housing plan that zones for 13,368 units by the end of the decade — the city does not have to build the homes, just have a conducive zoning atmosphere for their development by the free market. —Claire Wang, Oc Register, 9 May 2026

By late 2024, McFadden said, the opportunity for a larger, more conducive space was needed. —Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026

Seger’s music also seems to have been less conducive to the sort of right-wing political co-optation that has persistently befallen Springsteen’s, Petty’s, and Mellencamp’s work. —Jack Hamilton, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 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