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reductionist - 2 dictionary results

re⋅duc⋅tion⋅ism

  [ri-duhk-shuh-niz-uhm]
Use reductionist in a Sentence
–noun
1. the theory that every complex phenomenon, esp. in biology or psychology, can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon.
2. the practice of simplifying a complex idea, issue, condition, or the like, esp. to the point of minimizing, obscuring, or distorting it.
Origin:
1940–45; reduction + -ism

Related forms:
re⋅duc⋅tion⋅ist, noun, adjective
re⋅duc⋅tion⋅is⋅tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·duc·tion·ism   (rĭ-dŭk'shə-nĭz'əm)   
n.  An attempt or tendency to explain a complex set of facts, entities, phenomena, or structures by another, simpler set: "For the last 400 years science has advanced by reductionism ... The idea is that you could understand the world, all of nature, by examining smaller and smaller pieces of it. When assembled, the small pieces would explain the whole" (John Holland).
re·duc'tion·ist adj. & n., re·duc'tion·is'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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