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reflexive - 6 dictionary results
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Reflexive Definition
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re⋅flex⋅ive

  [ri-flek-siv]
Use reflexive in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Grammar.
a. (of a verb) taking a subject and object with identical referents, as shave in I shave myself.
b. (of a pronoun) used as an object to refer to the subject of a verb, as myself in I shave myself.
2. reflex; responsive.
3. able to reflect; reflective.
4. Mathematics.
a. noting a relation in which each element is in relation to itself, as the relation “less than or equal to.” Compare antireflexive.
b. (of a vector space) having the property that the dual space of the dual space of the given vector space equals the given vector space.
–noun
5. Grammar. a reflexive verb or pronoun.
Origin:
1580–90; < ML reflexīvus turned back, reflected. See reflex, -ive

Related forms:
re⋅flex⋅ive⋅ly, adverb
re⋅flex⋅ive⋅ness, re⋅flex⋅iv⋅i⋅ty  [ree-flek-siv-i-tee] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reflexive
re·flex·ive   (rĭ-flěk'sĭv)   
adj.  
  1. Directed back on itself.
  2. Grammar
    1. Of, relating to, or being a verb having an identical subject and direct object, as dressed in the sentence She dressed herself.
    2. Of, relating to, or being the pronoun used as the direct object of a reflexive verb, as herself in She dressed herself.
  3. Of or relating to a reflex.
  4. Elicited automatically; spontaneous: "a bid for . . . reflexive left-wing approval" (Marshall Delaney).
n.   Grammar
A reflexive verb or pronoun. See Usage Note at myself.
re·flex'ive·ly adv., re·flex'ive·ness, re'flex·iv'i·ty (rē'flěk-sĭv'ĭ-tē) n.
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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Reflexive

Re*flex"ive\ (-?v), a. 1. [Cf. F. r['e]flexif.] Bending or turned backward; reflective; having respect to something past.

Assurance reflexive can not be a divine faith. --Hammond.

2. Implying censure. [Obs.] "What man does not resent an ugly reflexive word?" --South.

3. (Gram.) Having for its direct object a pronoun which refers to the agent or subject as its antecedent; -- said of certain verbs; as, the witness perjured himself; I bethought myself. Applied also to pronouns of this class; reciprocal; reflective. -- Re*flex"ive*ly, adv. -- Re*flex"ive*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : reflexive
Spanish: reflexivo,
German: Reflektiv-…,
Japanese: 再帰の
More Translations »

Main Entry: re·flex·ive
Pronunciation: ri-'flek-siv
Function: adjective
: characterized by habitual and unthinking behavior; also : relating to or consisting of a reflex
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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reflexive   (rĭ-flěk'sĭv)  Pronunciation Key 
Of or relating to a mathematical or logical relation such that, for any given element, that element has the given relation to itself. Equality in mathematics is a reflexive relation, since a = a for all a, whereas the relation of being 'less than' is not, since it is not true that a < a for any a.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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reflexive theory
A relation R is reflexive if, for all x, x R x.
Equivalence relations, pre-orders, partial orders and total orders are all reflexive.
(1999-01-28)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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