reductiveness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English reductive Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English reductiveness From reductive + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) The quality of being reductive, of reducing things to their components
There is danger in trying too cleanly to diagram the roots of Hedda’s pathology. That way lies reductiveness.
2009 January 18, Charles Isherwood, “Hedda Forever: An Antiheroine for the Ages”, in New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| reductivenesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |