Etymology

From reflect +‎ -iveCategory:English terms suffixed with -ive#REFLECTIVE.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈflɛktɪv/Category:English 3-syllable words#REFLECTIVECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#REFLECTIVE

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#REFLECTIVE
• Rhymes: -ɛktɪvCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛktɪv#REFLECTIVECategory:Rhymes:English/ɛktɪv/3 syllables#REFLECTIVE

Adjective

reflective (comparative more reflective, superlative most reflective)Category:English lemmas#REFLECTIVECategory:English adjectives#REFLECTIVECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFLECTIVECategory:Pages with entries#REFLECTIVECategory:Pages with 1 entry#REFLECTIVE

1. That reflects, or redirects back to the source.

   Mirrors are reflective.Category:English terms with usage examples#REFLECTIVE

2. Pondering, especially thinking back on the past.

   He always becomes reflective in preparation for the new year.Category:English terms with usage examples#REFLECTIVE

3. That reveals or shows; revealing; indicative of.
   • 2013 August 30, Kat Kinsman, “Something borrowed: Wedding traditions from around the world”, in CNN‎:

     Both brides and grooms in native Hawaiian tradition wear flower garlands as a physical manifestation of their love for one another, and to some, the twining of the stems is reflective of two families now becoming one. A more tourist-friendly version established in the past couple of decades involves winding the leis around the couple’s hands to bind them together.

     Category:English terms with quotations#REFLECTIVE

   • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3:

     In any event, the incident, and the media attention it attracted, highlights the sensitivity of language politics in Singapore and is reflective of the fact that this sensitivity extends to campus life.

     Category:English terms with quotations#REFLECTIVE

4. (programmingCategory:en:Programming#REFLECTIVE) Involving reflection.
5. (programmingCategory:en:Programming#REFLECTIVE) By means of reflection.
   • 2024, Egon Börger, Vincenzo Gervasi, Structures of Computing: A Guide to Practice-Oriented Theory, page 108:

     In JIT compilation, the running program is reflectively modified by an embedded compiler, which only uses two reflective operations […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#REFLECTIVE

6. (grammarCategory:en:Grammar#REFLECTIVE) Reciprocal.