conducive

adjective

con·​du·​cive kən-ˈdü-siv How to pronounce conducive (audio)
-ˈdyü-
: tending to promote or assist
an atmosphere conducive to education
conduciveness noun

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Something conducive "leads to" a desirable result. A cozy living room may be conducive to relaxed conversation, just as a boardroom may be conducive to more intense discussions. Particular tax policies are often conducive to savings and investment, whereas others are conducive to consumer spending. Notice that conducive is almost always followed by to.

Examples of conducive in a Sentence

… air-conditioner cooling towers on the roof provided a conducive summertime abode, from which the germs circulated throughout the edifice in a fine infectious mist. Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs, 1995
To the extent to which the political realm is more conducive to rational choice, compared with the social realm which is governed by material and economic concerns, it is in politics that the potentiality for freedom lies. Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987
It was a hard time, and not conducive to obedience and warmth, and fairly soon I was tucked into a kindly concentration camp for budding Christians … M. F. K. Fisher, Journal of Gastronomy, Summer 1984
The small hat of woven green plastic raffia, the jazzy short-sleeved shirt (fundamentally orange), the pale blue shorts, were not garments conducive to dignity. A. N. Wilson, Scandal or Priscilla's Kindness, 1983
the claim that the state's long-standing antitax attitude is conducive to entrepreneurship the noisy environment of the dorms was not very conducive to studying
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mufasa’s singing scenes clearly lack the playfulness that made previous Disney soundtracks so memorable, in part because live-action production is simply less conducive to fantastical, dreamlike imagery than animation is. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2024 That's going to only be conducive to us all being able to wrap our minds around it and then get to work. EW.com, 18 Dec. 2024 All of these circumstances are unlikely to be conducive to a successful political transition. Sam Heller, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024 The success of these initiatives is underpinned by the expansion of innovation ecosystems, which drive the development of cutting-edge solutions in a conducive environment and foster stronger partnerships. Petronas Contributor, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for conducive 

Word History

Etymology

conduce + -ive

Note: English derivatives with -ive are normally formed from the past participle of a Latin verb. The adjective conducive is an exception. Presumably this is the case because conduct entry 1 already existed as a verb, but it lacked an original sense of Latin condūcere, "to tend to support, be of advantage (to)"—so that conductive would not convey the right meaning. The alternative was to form an -ive adjective directly from the verb.

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of conducive was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near conducive

Cite this Entry

“Conducive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conducive. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

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