selektiivinen

Selektiivinen is a Finnish adjective meaning characterized by selectivity or by making deliberate choices among alternatives. It describes processes, behaviours, or tools that prefer certain elements over others, rather than applying universally or at random. The term is used across various fields to indicate a bias toward specific criteria or targets.

Etymology and usage notes: the word comes from Latin selectus and is adapted into Finnish through the English term selective, with the typical Finnish adjectival ending -inen. In everyday language it is often interchangeable with valikoiva, though selektiivinen tends to emphasize the mechanism or basis of selection rather than just the outcome.

Contexts and examples: in science and medicine, selektiivinen describes targeted or specific actions, such as selektiivinen paine (selective pressure) in evolutionary biology, selektiivinen huomio (selective attention) in psychology, and selektiiviset lääkeaineet (selective drug agents) in pharmacology. In ecology it can refer to selektiivinen ravinnonhankinta (selective foraging) or vegetation use. In information processing or technology, selektiivinen suodatus or selektiivinen haku describes filtering or searching that prioritizes certain criteria. In general discourse, the term can describe any non-random selection process based on defined criteria. The opposite form is epäselektiivinen, meaning non-selective.