reflexive
/ɹɪˈflɛksɪv/
reflexive adjective: referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject.
Adjective
reflexive (not comparable)
- Referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject.
- Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRx for all members x of S (that is, the relation holds between any element of the set and itself).
- "Equals" is a reflexive relation, as it holds for all possible x; "not less" is non-reflexive because it is true only for some x and y, "unequal" is irreflexive, as it never holds between x and itself.
- Of or resulting from a reflex.
- The electric shock elicited an automatic and reflexive response from him.
- Producing immediate response, spontaneous.
- a reflexive dislike
- Antonyms:
- contemplative, considered
- Producing or provoking a reciprocal response.
- Shoigu's thinly veiled nuclear threats against NATO are part of the Kremlin's broader reflexive control campaign to influence Western decision-making in Russia's favor and against Western states' own interests. Shoigu's nuclear threats are attempts to push European states to self-deter and reduce...2025 April 24, Christina Harward, Daria Novikov, Anna Harvey, Grace Mappes, George Barros, Nate Trotter, William Runkel, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 24, 2025”, in Ukraine Project...
- Synonym of reflective.
- Synonyms:
- reflective
Noun
reflexive (plural reflexives)
reflexive meaning in Tamil, Bengali and Tagalog
reflexive in Tamil
- தற்சுட்டு, தன்வயம்
reflexive in Bengali
- প্রতিবর্ত, আত্মবাচক
reflexive in Tagalog
- in mathematics
- pabalik
Examples of reflexive in a sentence
- Reflexive statements like "this sentence is false" present interesting problems in the study of logic.
- The verb 'ask' in 'ask yourself' is a reflexive verb.
- In grammar, some verbs can be both reflexive and non-reflexive.
Synonyms of reflexive
Antonyms
Forms of reflexive
| plural | reflexives |
|---|
Origin of reflexive
From Medieval Latin reflexīvus, from Latin reflexus, equivalent to reflex + -ive.
Words formed from reflexive
- autoreflexive
- hyperreflexive
- hyporeflexive
- metareflexive
- photoreflexive
- pseudoreflexive
- quasireflexive
- reflexicon
- reflexive law
- reflexiveness
- reflexive possessive
- reflexive possessive pronoun
- reflexive pronoun
- reflexive statement
- reflexive verb
- reflexivity
- reflexivization
- reflexivize
- self-reflexive
- semi-reflexive
- unreflexive
Phrases with reflexive
Questions about reflexive
- What does reflexive mean?
- Reflexive means referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject.
- What is reflexive in Tamil?
- Reflexive in Tamil is தற்சுட்டு, தன்வயம். See Reflexive meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is reflexive?
- Reflexive can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce reflexive?
- Reflexive is pronounced /ɹɪˈflɛksɪv/ (UK).
Words near reflexive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: reflexive (page history and authors); reflexive (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); reflexive (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-reflexive.wav.
Cite this entry: “reflexive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reflexive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.