Unreducing

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Making an object or situation less reduced or diminished in size, amount, or intensity
2. Remaining constant in its entirety without further decrease or alteration
3. The condition of being maintained at full strength without any reduction or loss

Etymology: "Unreducing" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" added to "reducing," the present participle of "reduce." The base verb "reduce" comes from Latin "reducere," meaning "to lead back," built from "re-" (back) and "ducere" (to lead). Through Old French "reduire," it came into English with the sense of bringing something back to a prior state, and later acquired the meanings of lessening or shrinking that the adjective "unreducing" negates. The prefix "un-" is an ordinary English negator, here meaning "not" or "the opposite of." So "unreducing" describes something that does not lower, shrink, or diminish, and in the sense given it means an action that keeps a thing from being made smaller or weaker.

Synonyms: maintaining, preserving

Antonyms: reducing, diminishing