reflexive

[ ri-flek-siv ]
/ rɪˈflɛk sɪv /

adjective

Grammar.
  1. (of a verb) taking a subject and object with identical referents, as shave in I shave myself.
  2. (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.
  1. noting a relation in which each element is in relation to itself, as the relation “less than or equal to.”Compare antireflexive.
  2. (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.

Origin of reflexive

First recorded in 1580–90, reflexive is from the Medieval Latin word reflexīvus turned back, reflected. See reflex, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM reflexive

Words nearby reflexive

reflex neurogenic bladder, reflex sensation, reflex symptom, reflexed, reflexion, reflexive, reflexivize, reflexogenic, reflexograph, reflexology, reflexometer

Example sentences from the Web for reflexively

British Dictionary definitions for reflexively

reflexive
/ (rɪˈflɛksɪv) /

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 "… is a member of the same family as …" is reflexive Compare irreflexive, nonreflexive

noun

a reflexive pronoun or verb

Derived forms of reflexive

reflexively, adverb reflexiveness or reflexivity (ˌriːflɛkˈsɪvɪtɪ), noun

Scientific definitions for reflexively

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 < a for any a.