reductive.

Explaining something in a way that strips away significant complexity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• reductive account
• reductive explanation

On the page

The account is reductive in treating every motive as economic.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Comparative more reductive; superlative most reductive when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: evidence, inference, qualification. Commonness: moderately common.