Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, produced by, or resulting from reflection.
  • adjective Capable of or producing reflection.
  • adjective Characterized by or given to serious thinking or contemplation; thoughtful. synonym: pensive.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Produced by reflection.
  • Throwing back rays or images; giving reflections; reflecting.
  • Taking cognizance of the operations of the mind; exercising thought or reflection; capable of exercising thought or judgment.
  • Having a tendency to or characterized by reflection.
  • Devoted to reflection; containing reflections.
  • In grammar, reflexive.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Throwing back images.
  • adjective Capable of exercising thought or judgment.
  • adjective Addicted to introspective or meditative habits.
  • adjective (Gram.) Reflexive; reciprocal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Something which reflects, or redirects back to the source.
  • adjective Thinking back on the past.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective devoted to matters of the mind
  • adjective capable of physically reflecting light or sound
  • adjective deeply or seriously thoughtful

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

reflect +‎ -ive

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word reflective.

Examples

  • Invitations for the event, which marks Hurwitz's completion of the same course of training and examination as male Orthodox rabbinical students, say it is a "conferral ceremony" at which Hurwitz will receive "a new title reflective of her religious and spiritual role."

    unknown title 2009

  • It's part of a well written article that shows the power of aesthetics in creating what I call reflective meaning, the ability to has an awareness or poise which leads to action.

    Cognitive Edge 2009

  • The rationalist approach in reflective realism, at its extreme, renders it maeiutic fiction.

    Archive 2009-07-01 Hal Duncan 2009

  • An individual engages in reflective thinking to "perceive the state of her own mind."

    Archive 2009-07-01 Hal Duncan 2009

  • An individual engages in reflective thinking to "perceive the state of her own mind."

    On Mimetic and Maieutic Fiction Hal Duncan 2009

  • Given the aspect of rationalist study entailed in reflective realism, the subset of “literary” fiction described above might be described as academic fiction.

    On Mimetic and Maieutic Fiction Hal Duncan 2009

  • Given the aspect of rationalist study entailed in reflective realism, the subset of “literary” fiction described above might be described as academic fiction.

    Archive 2009-07-01 Hal Duncan 2009

  • The rationalist approach in reflective realism, at its extreme, renders it maeiutic fiction.

    On Mimetic and Maieutic Fiction Hal Duncan 2009

  • It is a word reflective of an historical racial fact in America.

    Clarence B. Jones: Keep it Real -- Stop the Hypocrisy 2010

  • To overcome this problem, the Purdue researchers developed a means to create LEDs on low-cost, metal-coated silicon wafers, whereby the the silicon substrate is metalized with a built-in reflective layer of zirconium nitride.

    Sustainable Design Update » Blog Archive » New Low Cost LED Technology 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Often confused with reflexive in counselor training.

    June 28, 2008