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

• 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

Forecasters said the showers and thunderstorms associated with this wave have started to consolidate and become slightly better organized, and that environmental conditions are conducive for gradual development of this system during the next several days. —Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

While Kiko will be moving into cooler waters and a less conducive atmosphere over the weekend, which could weaken the storm, the state of Hawaii could still face impacts from the storm. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2025

On the other are those who question if his score-first approach is conducive to winning. —Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

That’s an argument, by the way, for close plant spacing since the cheek-by-jowl intimacy of one plant with another shades roots and is conducive to lush growth. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 30 Aug. 2025

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