a. [ LL. inductivus: cf. F. inductif. See Induce. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. Leading or drawing; persuasive; tempting; -- usually followed by to. [ 1913 Webster ] A brutish vice,
Inductive mainly to the sin of Eve. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Tending to induce or cause. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ] They may be . . . inductive of credibility. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Leading to inferences; proceeding by, derived from, or using, induction; as, inductive reasoning. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
Inductive embarrassment (Physics), the retardation in signaling on an electric wire, produced by lateral induction. --
Inductive philosophy or
Inductive method. See Philosophical induction, under Induction. --
Inductive sciences, those sciences which admit of, and employ, the inductive method, as astronomy, botany, chemistry, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]
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