In*duct"ive (?), a. [LL. inductivus: cf. F. inductif. See Induce.]

1.

Leading or drawing; persuasive; tempting; -- usually followed by to.

A brutish vice, Inductive mainly to the sin of Eve. Milton.

2.

Tending to induce or cause.

[R.]

They may be . . . inductive of credibility. Sir M. Hale.

3.

Leading to inferences; proceeding by, derived from, or using, induction; as, inductive reasoning.

4. Physics (a)

Operating by induction; as, an inductive electrical machine.

(b)

Facilitating induction; susceptible of being acted upon by induction; as certain substances have a great inductive capacity.

Inductive embarrassment Physics, the retardation in signaling on an electric wire, produced by lateral induction. -- Inductive philosophy ∨ method. See Philosophical induction, under Induction. -- Inductive sciences, those sciences which admit of, and employ, the inductive method, as astronomy, botany, chemistry, etc.

 

© Webster 1913.