reductive
adjective
re·duc·tive
ri-ˈdək-tiv 
1
: of, relating to, causing, or involving reduction
2
: of or relating to reductionism : reductionistic
reductively
adverb
reductiveness
noun
Examples of reductive in a Sentence
a reductive interpretation of the theory
Recent Examples on the Web
And although that take was understandable — if unfairly reductive — at the time, VW is now a very different band.
—
Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
The discourse around such cuts as D.C. offers the billionaire owner of the Caps and Wizards a $515 million deal to stay downtown is reductive; the money comes from a different pot.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
But has our understanding of minimalism itself become a little too reductive?
—Lauren Gallow, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2024
For the most part, these 1930s westerns depicted at least their principal Black characters with dignity, though reductive comic stereotypes were present, too.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024
The plan was to create a car that impressed by a reductive design, drawing attention to what isn’t there as much as what is.
—Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
And the hook-up between Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) felt like a reductive moment for a fascinating double act.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Of course, that required a certain amount of reductive storytelling — the compression of time, the conflation of characters, an oversimplification of ideas — but every movie must fight its way to life.
—New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
But to others, focusing on a few broad elements felt too reductive.
—Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024
Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
The discourse around such cuts as D.C. offers the billionaire owner of the Caps and Wizards a $515 million deal to stay downtown is reductive; the money comes from a different pot.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
But has our understanding of minimalism itself become a little too reductive?
—Lauren Gallow, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2024
For the most part, these 1930s westerns depicted at least their principal Black characters with dignity, though reductive comic stereotypes were present, too.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024
The plan was to create a car that impressed by a reductive design, drawing attention to what isn’t there as much as what is.
—Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
And the hook-up between Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) felt like a reductive moment for a fascinating double act.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Of course, that required a certain amount of reductive storytelling — the compression of time, the conflation of characters, an oversimplification of ideas — but every movie must fight its way to life.
—New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
But to others, focusing on a few broad elements felt too reductive.
—Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reductive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Reductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reductive. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
reductive
adjective
re·duc·tive
ri-ˈdək-tiv
: of, relating to, causing, or involving reduction
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