Deductive Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of DEDUCTIVE is of, relating to, or provable by deriving conclusions by reasoning : of, relating to, or provable by deduction. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut deductive adjective SaveWord de·​duc·​tive |\di-ˈdək-tiv ,dē-\ Definitionofdeductive 1 :of,relatingto,orprovablebyderivingconclusionsbyreasoning:of,relatingto,orprovablebydeduction(seedeductionsense2a) deductiveprinciples 2 :employingdeductioninreasoning conclusionsbasedondeductivelogic OtherWordsfromdeductive Synonyms&Antonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingdeductive LearnMoreAboutdeductive OtherWordsfromdeductive deductively adverb Synonyms&Antonymsfordeductive Synonyms apriori,deducible,derivable,inferable(alsoinferrible),inferential,reasoned Antonyms nondeductive VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofdeductiveinaSentence aconclusionbasedondeductivereasoning usingdeductivereasoningwemustconcludethatsinceeveryoneeventuallydies,soonerorlaterit'sgoingtobeourturn RecentExamplesontheWeb Doctorsevaluatedataandusedeductivereasoningtomakediagnosisandtreatmentdecisions. — AdamSaltman,Forbes,2May2022 Reevesisfarmoreinterestedindiggingintothecharacter’sinsular,deductivereasoning. — DavidSims,TheAtlantic,2Mar.2022 Theirtechnologyenablesbirders,whobeforemayhavehadtoresorttotediousdeductiveresearchtoidentifybirdsintheirarea,touploadinformationoftheirown,muchlikepopularmusic-identifyingapplicationShazam. — HannahWeinberger,OutsideOnline,18July2014 Readersareinstoreforplentyofsurprises,untilthelaurelofdeductivesuccessisawardedtoDetectiveGalileo. — TomNolan,WSJ,14Jan.2022 GameslikeWordlecansharpenourdeductivereasoningskills,Lightfootadds. — WashingtonPost,13Jan.2022 Seniorexecutivestendtopreferdeductiveorganizationforsure. — RodgerDeanDuncan,Forbes,7June2021 ThereisanabundanceofdeductivespeculationamongGamacheandhisteam,andthebrainstormingcontinuesevenafterthesuspectsaregatheredforafinalconfrontation. — TomNolan,WSJ,27Aug.2021 Thelanguageshouldbedeductive,basedonspecificfactsandinformation,notinductive,ortryingtodrawconclusionsorexplainwhathappened. — NellDerickDebevoise,Forbes,29May2021 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'deductive.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingdeductive hypothetico-deductive hypothetico-deductive FirstKnownUseofdeductive 1646,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyfordeductive seededuct LearnMoreAboutdeductive Sharedeductive PosttheDefinitionofdeductivetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofdeductiveonTwitter TimeTravelerfordeductive Thefirstknownuseofdeductivewas in1646 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 'Deduction'vs.'Induction'vs.... 'Deduction'vs.'Induction'vs.'Abduction' Learnthedifferencesbetweenthesethreetypesofreasoning DictionaryEntriesNeardeductive deductionnewforold deductive deductivemethod SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsfordeductive LastUpdated 28May2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Deductive.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deductive.Accessed25Jul.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MorefromMerriam-Websterondeductive BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofdeductiveforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY conscientious SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary WhichWordDoesNotBelong? Whichofthesewordsdoesnotmean"nonsense"? sagacity folderol bunkum blatherskite Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay 'Dunderhead'andOther‘Nicer’WaystoSayStupid Asillustratedbysomeverysmartpups 10WordsfromPlaceNames Bikini,bourbon,andbadmintonwereplacesfirst 'Pride':TheWordThatWentFromVicetoStrength DoyoutakeprideinPride? WhenWereWordsFirstUsed? Lookupanyyeartofindout AsktheEditors Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... 'AllIntensivePurposes'or'AllIntentsandPurposes'? We'reintentonclearingitup Layvs.Lie EditorEmilyBrewsterclarifiesthedifference. HotMess "Thepublicisahotmess" WordGames FashionableWords Avocabquizwithpanache Takethequiz NameEvenMoreColors MorethanROYGBIV Takethequiz TrueorFalse? Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethinga... Takethequiz SpellingBeeQuiz CanyououtdopastwinnersoftheNationalSpelli... Takethequiz