conduisante

Conduisante is the feminine present participle of the French verb conduire (to lead, to drive) and is used as an adjective to describe a feminine noun. In French grammar, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; the masculine counterpart is conduisant, while the past participle is conduit.

In technical and literary writing, conduisante can function as an attributive or predicative adjective meaning driving, leading, or guiding. For example: une force conduisante (a driving force), une idée conduisante (a guiding idea). The sense overlaps with established terms such as force motrice but is stylistically more explicit about directionality.

The term is relatively rare in ordinary speech and is more common in formal or interdisciplinary discourse, including philosophy, systems theory, and French-language technical writing. In English translations, conduisante is typically rendered as "driving" or "leading"—for instance, "the driving force" or "the guiding principle."

Etymology: from the verb conduire (via Latin conducere), formed as feminine present participle. See also conduisant, conduire, force motrice, fil conducteur.