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
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
Surely somebody was on the inside, holding power, and yet everybody here felt iced out, their privilege and their victimhood irreducible against one another; each personal combination private, hurtful, and too tender to touch.
—Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
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
Reclaim what is unique and irreducible in these encounters—what cannot be accounted for by the systemic analysis.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for irreducible
Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Surely somebody was on the inside, holding power, and yet everybody here felt iced out, their privilege and their victimhood irreducible against one another; each personal combination private, hurtful, and too tender to touch.
—Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
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
Reclaim what is unique and irreducible in these encounters—what cannot be accounted for by the systemic analysis.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for irreducible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreducible
Adjective
-
The veteran would be a small upgrade in the outfield for the Padres.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 July 2025
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Those are the numbers for a 2.5-MW commercial-scale version, anyway; thus far, the idea has only been tested at smaller scale.—
Loz Blain
June 30,
New Atlas,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Green Day’s summer European run has not been without a few minor hiccups.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
1 July 2025
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Consumer prices were absolutely stable on average from 1800 to 1913, dispensing with minor yearly variation, and there was no income tax.—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irreducible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreducible. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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