abductiveadj.
/əbˈdʌktɪv/, U.S. /əbˈdəktɪv/, /æbˈdəktɪv/ 1. Characterized by leading or drawing away; tending toward withdrawal or removal. Now rare.
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1803 W. O. Pughe Geiriadur Cynmraeg a Saesoneg: Welsh & Eng. Dict. II Gorzygawl[= gorddygawl],..Bringing over; abductive.
1804 J. Leslie Exper. Inq. Heat 499 As rarefaction advances, the abductive power diminishes always more slowly than the regressive.
1857 Chem. Gaz. 1 Oct. 372 The mixture..is put into a balloon furnished with an abductive tube.
1911 E. D. Peters Pract. Copper Smelting viii. 236 An abductive heat loss of 30 per cent, from various causes, makes up the balance.
2. Anatomy and Zoology. That carries out abduction (abduction n. 4); of, relating to, or of the nature of abduction.
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1820 London Med. & Physical Jrnl. 43 240 Seven-tenths of them [sc. fractures of the fibula] affected the right leg;..three-tenths from similar abductive motions [of the foot].
1863 Proc. Royal Soc. 1862–3 20 95 The first muscles which lose their power are the interosseous, which govern the adductive and abductive movements of the fingers.
1932 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 67 523 Theoretically, all muscles that can aid in simple flexion and extension of the limb segments will be developed, while those which normally accomplish abductive, adductive and rotational action of the member will tend toward reduction.
1950 Amer. Jrnl. Orthodontics 36 499 (caption) The temporal muscle has a less important role in contralateral than in ipsilateral abductive movements.
2007 Cortex 43 532/1 The right hand showed an adductive advantage, whereas the left hand showed an abductive advantage.
3. Of, involved in, or characterized by the abduction of a person by force, deception, etc.
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1839 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 46 22/2 A yelling horde of red barbarians, who, it must be owned, look abductive in the extreme.
1892 Photogr. Times 1 Jan. 4/1 Such a thing of beauty as would surely cure the coachman of any abductive design upon the heiress of the mansion.
1913 M. C. Fraser Ital. Yesterdays II. xiii. 243 He accused Charles of designing to obtain the kingdom for himself by his abductive marriage with the Princess Maria.
1992 North Eastern Reporter 2nd Ser. 584 512/1 The State's..interest in protecting the custodial right of one parent from the abductive abuse of the other.
4. Chiefly Philosophy. Originally in the writings of C. S. Peirce: (of reasoning, etc.) characterized by a process of abduction (abduction n. 3b).
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1902 C. S. Peirce Writings (1986) IV. 588 Abductive Induction is quite a different thing from abduction.
1939 J. Buchler Charles Peirce's Empiricism xiii. 38 Whereas perception is abductive, attention or the abstracting process of thought is held by Peirce to be inductive.
2002 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 35 246/2 For philosophy he takes most sustenance from..Peirce, with his notion of abductive inference.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1803