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 or method. See Philosophical
induction, under Induction. -- Inductive
sciences, those sciences which admit of, and employ,
the inductive method, as astronomy, botany, chemistry, etc.