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reflexive
[ ri-flek-siv ]
adjective
- Grammar.
- (of a verb) taking a subject and object with identical referents, as shave in I shave myself.
- (of a pronoun) used as an object to refer to the subject of a verb, as myself in I shave myself.
- reflex; responsive.
- able to reflect; reflective.
- Mathematics.
- noting a relation in which each element is in relation to itself, as the relation “less than or equal to.” Compare antireflexive.
- (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
- Grammar. a reflexive verb or pronoun.
reflexive
/ rɪˈflɛksɪv; ˌriːflɛkˈsɪvɪtɪ /
adjective
- denoting a class of pronouns that refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause. Thus, in the sentence that man thinks a great deal of himself , the pronoun himself is reflexive
- denoting a verb used transitively with the reflexive pronoun as its direct object, as the French se lever "to get up" (literally "to raise oneself") or English to dress oneself
- physiol of or relating to a reflex
- logic maths (of a relation) holding between any member of its domain and itself Compare irreflexive nonreflexive
"… is a member of the same family as …" is reflexive
noun
- a reflexive pronoun or verb
reflexive
/ rĭ-flĕk′sĭv /
- 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
Derived Forms
- reˈflexiveness, noun
- reˈflexively, adverb
Other Words From
- re·flexive·ly adverb
- re·flexive·ness re·flex·iv·i·ty [ree-flek-, siv, -i-tee], noun
- semi·re·flexive adjective
- semi·re·flexive·ly adverb
- semi·re·flexive·ness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of reflexive1
Example Sentences
Despite his stepfather’s activism, Spencer was not a reflexive Republican.
As president, Carter tried to nudge American foreign policy away from its reflexive Cold War dualism toward an emphasis on human rights.
Given that the housing crisis is a front-and-center issue throughout the country, whether or not the president-elect reflexively favors housing development is an important question.
On the other side: scofflaws who condemn the forest service as another “useless” government agency reflexively shutting things down in the name of “safety” at the expense of freedom.
He “did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and ... he may have fallen in a state of semi- or total unconsciousness,” officials said.
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