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Glite Dictionary
reductive analysis

reductive analysis

1 8.2
A way of looking at a subject that makes it seem simpler than it really is
  • noun
  • /rɪˈdʌktɪv əˈnælɪsɪs/
  • Formal
translation icon : análisis reductivo
  • In her essay, she cautioned against reductive analysis that overlooks the complexities of human behavior.

Examples

  • The report provided a reductive analysis of the historical events, omitting significant cultural factors.

  • A reductive analysis may provide clarity but can miss the nuance present in complex systems.

  • Critics accused the author of using reductive analysis when interpreting the novel's themes.

  • The report relied on a reductive analysis that failed to address underlying social factors.

  • A reductive analysis can lead to misunderstandings.

  • Critics argue that the reductive analysis oversimplifies the issue.

  • Many critics argue that the professor's approach offers a reductive analysis of modern art by focusing only on its basic elements.

Synonyms

oversimplification
vsreductive analysis
10 7.0

Making something seem simpler than it really is by leaving out important details

is an examination that treats complexity as simple and leaves out important nuances
reductionism
vsreductive analysis
  • Formal
3 8.7

Explaining complex things by only looking at their simple parts

is a critical examination that flattens complexity and ignores important nuances
reductive approach
vsreductive analysis
7.4

A way of looking at something too simply that misses important details

is a focused examination that makes a topic seem too simple and misses nuances
simplism
vsreductive analysis
8.7

Act of treating a problem as simpler than it is by ignoring important details

is an examination that makes things look too simple in one instance
broad-brush approach
vsreductive analysis
6.4

A general way of dealing with something that ignores small details

is a focused examination that makes complex things seem like basic parts only

How Reductive

reductive analysis
  • Formal
1 8.2
analysis
∞ 3.4

Surface Forms

reductive analysis singular
reductive analyses plural

Morphology

reductive + analysis

The meaning 'an examination that oversimplifies and ignores nuance' is directly and predictably built from 'reductive' (simplifying to the point of losing details) modifying 'analysis' (systematic examination). This adjective+noun compositional pattern is regular in English and in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Reductive analysis comes from the words reduce, meaning to make smaller, and analysis, meaning to break into parts; imagine cutting a complex cake into only two pieces and losing most of the flavours. So a 'reductive analysis' means an examination that 'oversimplifies' a subject and 'misses' important details.