What does eliminative mean?
"Eliminative" is a formal adjective describing something whose function is to eliminate — that is, to remove, exclude, or do away with something entirely. An eliminative process works by subtraction: it culls, purges, or rules out rather than adds or preserves. The word appears most often in scholarly contexts, particularly philosophy of mind, where "eliminative materialism" names the influential view that common-sense mental concepts such as beliefs and desires should be eliminated from a mature scientific account of the mind, not merely reduced to brain states. Outside this technical use, "eliminative" can describe methods in logic, statistics, medicine, and everyday administration, wherever a selective weeding-out is at work. Derived, like "eliminate," from the Latin eliminare, literally "to put out of doors," it retains that sense of decisive expulsion, making it a precise choice when a writer wants to stress removal rather than mere reduction.
Serving to eliminate, remove, or exclude; characterized by the act of elimination.
"The diagnostic test has a largely eliminative purpose: it rules out conditions one by one until a cause remains."
(Philosophy) Of or relating to the view that certain mental-state concepts should be eliminated rather than reduced, especially in eliminative materialism.
"Paul and Patricia Churchland are among the best-known advocates of eliminative approaches to folk psychology."
In philosophy, 'eliminative materialism' makes the startling claim that everyday concepts like beliefs and desires may simply not exist — and that's the word doing the heavy lifting.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eliminative
"Eliminative" derives from the verb "eliminate," which English borrowed in the early modern period from the Latin eliminare, formed from e- (out) plus liminare, from limes, meaning "threshold" — so originally, to put someone out beyond the threshold. The adjective followed as a natural derivative, used in general senses of removal and exclusion. It gained particular prominence in twentieth-century philosophy through "eliminative materialism." It shares its root with words such as "limit" and "subliminal," which also descend from the Latin limes.
How eliminative is actually used
"Eliminative" is a formal word, rare outside academic and technical writing. Its most prominent use by far is in the philosophical phrase "eliminative materialism," where it carries a technical meaning distinct from its ordinary sense of "serving to eliminate."
Easily confused with eliminative
"Eliminative" is an adjective describing something that removes or excludes, while "elimination" is the noun referring to the act of removing itself.
"Illuminative" means serving to illuminate or clarify, nearly the opposite function of "eliminative," which serves to remove or exclude.