Etymology From Medieval Latin reflexīvus, from Latin reflexus, equivalent to reflex + -ive.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject.
2
Mathematics, Sciences Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRx for all members x of S (that is, the relation holds between any element of the set and itself).
"Equals" is a reflexive relation, as it holds for all possible x; "not less" is non-reflexive because it is true only for some x and y, "unequal" is irreflexive, as it never holds between x and itself.
3
Of or resulting from a reflex.
The electric shock elicited an automatic and reflexive response from him.
Shoigu's thinly veiled nuclear threats against NATO are part of the Kremlin's broader reflexive control campaign to influence Western decision-making in Russia's favor and against Western states' own interests. Shoigu's nuclear threats are attempts to push European states to self-deter and reduce their buildups of their defenses – leaving NATO's eastern border largely undefended. These reflexive control efforts are in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2021 demand before launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine that NATO not deploy any military forces to states that became NATO members after 1997, including Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.2025 April 24, Christina Harward, Daria Novikov, Anna Harvey, Grace Mappes, George Barros, Nate Trotter, William Runkel, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 24, 2025”, in Ukraine Project, Institute for the Study of War: