reductive

/rɪˈdʌktɪv/

Other forms: reductively

Reductive things oversimplify information or leave out important details. A reductive argument won't win a debate, because it tries to make a complex issue much too simple.

Your friend may recommend reading the "CliffsNotes" version of "Moby Dick," instead of the novel itself — but if you do, you'll only get a reductive summary of the plot and themes, instead of a long, nuanced book. Reductive shares a root with reduce, or "make smaller," the Latin reducere, "bring back." The earliest meaning of reductive was "that brings back."

Definitions of reductive

1. adjective

   characterized by or causing diminution or curtailment
   “"their views of life were reductive and depreciatory" - R.H.Rovere”

   synonyms:

   subtractive

   constituting or involving subtraction