reason
Other forms: reasons; reasoning; reasoned
A reason explains why you do something. The reason you go to school is to learn things (and because it's the law).
Reason usually has to do with thought and logic, as opposed to emotion. If people think you show good reason, or are reasonable, it means you think things through. If people think you have a good reason for doing something, it means you have a motive that makes sense. Reason can also be a verb. You might reason something out, which means that you look at all sides of the issue and then and decide what to do.
Definitions of reason
-
a rational motive for a belief or action“the reason that war was declared”
-
synonyms:
ground
-
a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion“there is reason to believe he is lying”
-
types:
-
indication
(medicine) a reason to prescribe a drug or perform a procedure
-
contraindication
(medicine) a reason that makes it inadvisable to prescribe a particular drug or employ a particular procedure or treatment
-
type of:
-
fact
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
-
indication
-
a justification for something existing or happening“they had good reason to rejoice”
-
type of:
-
justification
a statement in explanation of some action or belief
-
justification
-
an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon“the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly”
-
type of:
-
account, explanation
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
-
account, explanation
-
the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination“we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil”
-
synonyms:
intellect, understanding
-
type of:
-
faculty, mental faculty, module
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
-
faculty, mental faculty, module
-
the state of having good sense and sound judgment“he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions”
-
synonyms:
rationality, reasonableness
-
decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion“We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house”
-
synonyms:
conclude, reason out
-
types:
- show 12 types...
- hide 12 types...
-
induce
reason or establish by induction
-
deduce, deduct, derive, infer
reason by deduction; establish by deduction
-
syllogise, syllogize
reason by syllogisms
-
feel, find
come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds
-
deduce, infer
conclude by reasoning; in logic
-
gather
conclude from evidence
-
extrapolate, generalise, generalize, infer
draw from specific cases for more general cases
-
extrapolate
gain knowledge of (an area not known or experienced) by extrapolating
-
surmise
infer from incomplete evidence
-
elicit
derive by reason
-
overgeneralise, overgeneralize
draw too general a conclusion
-
universalise, universalize
make universal
-
think logically“The children must learn to reason”
-
types:
- show 30 types...
- hide 30 types...
-
rationalise away, rationalize away
substitute a natural for a supernatural explanation of
-
theorize
form or construct theories
-
theorize
construct a theory about
-
ratiocinate
reason methodologically and logically
-
calculate, cipher, compute, cypher, figure, reckon, work out
make a mathematical calculation or computation
-
categorise, categorize
place into or assign to a category
-
speculate
talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion
-
quantise, quantize
apply quantum theory to; restrict the number of possible values of (a quantity) or states of (a physical entity or system) so that certain variables can assume only certain discrete magnitudes that are integral multiples of a common factor
-
extract
calculate the root of a number
-
process
perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information
-
prorate
divide or assess proportionally
-
miscalculate, misestimate
calculate incorrectly
-
recalculate
calculate anew
-
average, average out
compute the average of
-
factor, factor in, factor out
resolve into factors
-
add, add together
make an addition by combining numbers
-
deduct, subtract, take off
make a subtraction
-
multiply
combine by multiplication
-
divide, fraction
perform a division
-
extrapolate, interpolate
estimate the value of
-
differentiate
calculate a derivative; take the derivative
-
integrate
calculate the integral of; calculate by integration
-
survey
plot a map of (land)
-
assort, class, classify, separate, sort, sort out
arrange or order by classes or categories
-
approximate, estimate, gauge, guess, judge
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)
-
budget
make a budget
-
capitalise, capitalize
compute the present value of a business or an income
-
resolve, solve
find the solution
-
guess, hazard, pretend, venture
put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
-
say, suppose
express a supposition
-
present reasons and arguments
-
synonyms:
argue
-
types:
- show 6 types...
- hide 6 types...
-
re-argue
argue again
-
expostulate
reason with (somebody) for the purpose of dissuasion
-
defend, fend for, support
argue or speak in defense of
-
apologise, apologize, excuse, justify, rationalise, rationalize
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
-
stand up, stick up
defend against attack or criticism
-
uphold
stand up for; stick up for; of causes, principles, or ideals
Pronunciation
US
/ˈrizən/
UK
/ˈrizən/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘reason'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up reason for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
