reductive
adjective
re·duc·tive
| \ ri-ˈdək-tiv
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Definition of reductive
1
: of, relating to, causing, or involving reduction
2
: of or relating to reductionism : reductionistic
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Examples of reductive in a Sentence
a reductive interpretation of the theory
Recent Examples on the Web
Claws is the latest in a long line of shows and films that upend reductive stereotypes about fashion by using it as a tool to illuminate the many ways women relate to the world. — Cate Young, Vox, "Claws is a love letter to the proud, strip mall–fabulous American woman," 2 Aug. 2019 To say this was a reductive summation of both of their work is an understatement. — Soraya Roberts, Longreads, "This (Wo)Man’s Work," 19 July 2019 Visual and narrative complexity is a way of keeping the uninitiated out and also a way to diverge dramatically from the tendency in much of modernism toward reductive art-making with radically simple forms. — Dallas News, "Texas artist Trenton Doyle Hancock builds a world in massive exhibition space," 19 July 2019 These stereotypes that preclude women from equal consideration for executive leadership contributes to a detrimental cycle that results in homogenous, reductive perspectives in creative spaces. — Kwasi Boadi, Billboard, "Rising Execs Eye a More Inclusive Industry at American Express' Women in Music Leadership Academy," 24 June 2019 Luiselli’s reductive portrayal of the town’s gunfight reënactors, based on her trip to the O.K. Corral, seems to me like the equivalent of claiming, after a visit to Times Square, that people dressed as Disney characters represent New York City. — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, "The Mail," 29 May 2019 Modern researchers, however, tend to see the composer in a less reductive light. — National Geographic, "How Beethoven went from Napoleon’s biggest fan to his worst critic," 24 Apr. 2019 Yes, the lead was stupidly reductive, but nothing a little self-soothing at the minibar couldn’t fix. — Karen Karbo, National Geographic, "How Gloria Steinem became the 'world’s most famous feminist'," 25 Mar. 2019 But that person was, without exception, typified as a white working man of rural origins, which became the synecdoche for Americanness itself, a reductive oxymoron of universality. — Sarah Churchwell, The New York Review of Books, "America’s Original Identity Politics," 7 Feb. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reductive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for reductive
reductive
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of reductive
formal + often disapproving
: dealing with or describing something complicated in a simple or too simple way
See the full definition for reductive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
reductive
adjective
re·duc·tive
| \ ri-ˈdək-tiv
\
\
Medical Definition of reductive
: of, relating to, causing, or involving reduction