Reduzido

Reduzido is a Portuguese adjective formed from the verb reduzir (to reduce). It denotes something that has been made smaller, diminished, or lessened, and is used to describe quantities, values, times, sizes, or intensities that have undergone reduction. The term appears in everyday language in phrases such as custo reduzido (reduced cost), tempo reduzido (shortened time), or peso reduzido (reduced weight). As a participle, reduzido can also function as a predicate adjective in sentences, indicating a state resulting from a reduction.

In mathematics, economics, and related fields, reduzido is used in expressions such as forma reduzida (reduced form) and valor reduzido (reduced value). It commonly appears in contexts dealing with simplification, normalization, or discounting, for example a price as “preço reduzido” or a fraction in its reduced form. The term is versatile and can describe both quantitative changes and qualitative simplifications.

Historically, reduzidos refers to a specific and notable use in the context of South American colonial history: the reduções (reductions) of Jesuit missions. Known in Portuguese as reduções Jesuísticas, these were centralized settlements established in the 17th and 18th centuries where Indigenous Guarani and other groups were gathered under Jesuit religious and administrative oversight. The reduções aimed to facilitate Christianization, education, and defense, and they played a significant role in the social and demographic landscape of the region that is now Paraguay, parts of Argentina, and southern Brazil. The reduction policy ended with the suppression of the Jesuit order in the late 18th century.

See also: redução, Reduções Jesuíticas.