as in small
formal
not able to be made smaller or simpler
They thought the world was made up of four irreducible elements: earth, air, fire, and water. an irreducible fraction
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Recent Examples of irreducible
The Doomsday Clock is also political, picturing conditions that collectively contribute to the irreducible reality of a world in peril.
—
Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Increasing blessedness tends to anesthetize personality, but, especially in Hell, Dante’s characters are irreducible individuals, vivid and particular.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The refined view of entropy is one that sheds the false dreams of total efficiency and perfect prediction and instead concedes the irreducible uncertainty in the world.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
Policymakers should challenge the presumption that there is an irreducible tradeoff between data analysis and privacy—the notion that although more data may improve the accuracy of models for the public good, the cost to privacy is too high.
—Andrew Imbrie, Foreign Affairs, 19 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for irreducible
Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Increasing blessedness tends to anesthetize personality, but, especially in Hell, Dante’s characters are irreducible individuals, vivid and particular.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The refined view of entropy is one that sheds the false dreams of total efficiency and perfect prediction and instead concedes the irreducible uncertainty in the world.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
Policymakers should challenge the presumption that there is an irreducible tradeoff between data analysis and privacy—the notion that although more data may improve the accuracy of models for the public good, the cost to privacy is too high.
—Andrew Imbrie, Foreign Affairs, 19 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for irreducible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreducible
Adjective
-
At a time when the Mavericks need as much good will, or PR, as possible, filing a lawsuit against the Dallas Stars is petty, small and mean.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Nov. 2025
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The Senate vote to temporarily reopen the government sparked intense controversy within the Democratic Party, as a small group of its senators joined Republicans in backing a deal that did not guarantee the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, a key Democratic priority.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The only way that such a minor joke would set a fiancée off is if her engagement was already in a delicate place, and that is none of the housewives’ jobs to fix.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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The concept alone made headlines across the political aisle when the show was first announced, but the its digital marketing across Instagram and TikTok has turned it into a minor sensation.—
David Zucker,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irreducible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreducible. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
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