reflexive

[ri-flek-siv] /rɪˈflɛk sɪv/
adjective
1.
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.
2.
reflex; responsive.
3.
able to reflect; reflective.
4.
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
5.
Grammar. a reflexive verb or pronoun.
Origin
1580-90; < Medieval Latin reflexīvus turned back, reflected. See reflex, -ive
Related forms
reflexively, adverb
reflexiveness, reflexivity
[ree-flek-siv-i-tee] /ˌri flɛkˈsɪv ɪ ti/ (Show IPA), noun
semireflexive, adjective
semireflexively, adverb
semireflexiveness, noun
Examples from the web for reflexive
  • If the reflexive reaction to such a dish was a grimace, it was quickly dispelled.
  • Hyperbole meets ideological rigidity meets reflexive cynicism.
  • Another reason not to get too excited is the reflexive conservatism and technophobia of medical folk.
  • Thus the reflexive search for an easy explanation, a boogeyman to hold responsible, is perfectly normal.
  • At home, their reflexive repression has a target in their civilian population.
  • Page is a reflexive champion of big-sometimes quixotic-ideas.
  • These computations are what lie beneath the outfielder's grace and reflexive magic.
  • Success depended on the leader taking immediate reflexive actions while still maintaining coolness under extreme pressure.
  • It is thinkable that the mind, and the brain are reflexive in the style, the mind-the brain-the mind.
  • What they don't need is reflexive opposition from the teachers' unions.
British Dictionary definitions for reflexive

reflexive

/rɪˈflɛksɪv/
adjective
1.
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
2.
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
3.
(physiol) of or relating to a reflex
4.
(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
5.
a reflexive pronoun or verb
Derived Forms
reflexively, adverb
reflexiveness, reflexivity (ˌriːflɛkˈsɪvɪtɪ) noun
Word Origin and History for reflexive
adj.

1580s, "reflective, capable of bending or turning back," from Medieval Latin reflexivus, from Late Latin reflexus (see reflect). Meaning "of the nature of a reflex" is from 1839 (implied in reflexively). Grammatical sense from 1837. Related: Reflexiveness; reflexivity.

reflexive in Science
reflexive
  (rĭ-flěk'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.
reflexive in Technology
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)