Reason

Use reason in a sentence

noun

Reason is the cause for something to happen or the power of your brain to think, understand and engage in logical thought.

An example of reason is when you are late because your car ran out of gas.

An example of reason is the ability to think logically.

verb

To reason is to think things through, to use logic, or to try to solve a problem with logic.

An example of reason is when you think though a problem logically.

reason

1-an explanation or justification of an act, idea, etc.

2-a cause or motive

3-the ability to think, form judgments, draw conclusions, etc.

4-sound thought or judgment; good sense

5-normal mental powers; a sound mind; sanity

Origin of reason

Middle English reisun from Old French from Classical Latin ratio, a reckoning, reason: see read

1-to think coherently and logically; draw inferences or conclusions from facts known or assumed

2-to argue or talk in a logical way

3-to think logically about; think out systematically; analyze

4-to argue, conclude, or infer: now usually with a clause introduced by that as the object

5-to support, justify, etc. with reasons

6-to persuade or bring by reasoning (into or out of)

reason Idioms

by reason of

because of

in reason

in accord with what is reasonable

out of all reason

unreasonable

with reason

justifiably; rightly

reason

noun

1-a. The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction: There are good reasons to learn a foreign language. See Usage Note at because. See Usage Note at why.

b. A declaration made to explain or justify action, decision, or conviction: What reasons did she give for leaving?

c. A fact or cause that explains why something exists or has occurred: The reason for the building's collapse is unknown.

d. Logic A premise, usually the minor premise, of an argument.

2-a. The capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought; intelligence: “Most of us would like to believe that when we say something is right or wrong, we are using our powers of reason alone” ( Carl Zimmer )

b. The limit of what is reasonable: “It is a curious thing that, when a man hates or loves beyond reason, he is ready to go beyond reason to gratify his feelings” ( Rudyard Kipling )

c. A normal mental state; sanity: He has lost his reason.

Verb

rea·soned, rea·son·ing, rea·sons                                                                                                                             verb

transitive

1-To determine or conclude by logical thinking: The doctor reasoned that the patient had a virus.

2-To persuade or dissuade (someone) with reasons: “You boast … of having reasoned him out of his absurd romance” ( William Makepeace Thackeray )

verb

intransitive

1-To use the faculty of reason; think logically: What would lead you to reason so?

2-To talk or argue logically and persuasively: tried to reason with her son to eat a good breakfast.

3-Obsolete To engage in conversation or discussion.

reason

reason intuition understanding judgment

These nouns refer to the intellectual faculty by which humans seek or attain knowledge or truth. Reason is the power to think rationally and logically and to draw inferences: “Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its [the Christian religion's] veracity” (David Hume). Intuition is perception or comprehension, as of truths or facts, without the use of the rational process: I trust my intuitions when it comes to assessing someone's character. Understanding is the faculty by which one understands, often together with the resulting comprehension: “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding” (Louis D. Brandeis). Judgment is the ability to assess situations or circumstances and draw sound conclusions: “At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment” (Benjamin Franklin).

Noun

(plural reasons)

1-A cause:

That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.

The reason this tree fell is that it had rotted.

A motive for an action or a determination.

The reason I robbed the bank was that I needed the money.

If you don't give me a reason to go with you, I won't.

An excuse: a thought or a consideration offered in support of a determination or an opinion; that which is offered or accepted as an explanation.

2-(uncountable) Rational thinking (the capacity for it; the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.

Mankind should develop reason above all other virtues.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present reasons, present participle reasoning, simple past and past participle reasoned)

1-(intransitive) To exercise the rational faculty; to deduce inferences from premises; to perform the process of deduction or of induction; to ratiocinate; to reach conclusions by a systematic comparison of facts.

2-(intransitive) Hence: To carry on a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to formulate and set forth propositions and the inferences from them; to argue.

3-(intransitive) To converse; to compare opinions.

4-To arrange and present the reasons for or against; to examine or discuss by arguments; to debate or discuss.

I reasoned the matter with my friend.

5-(rare) To support with reasons, as a request.

6-To persuade by reasoning or argument.

to reason one into a belief; to reason one out of his plan

7-(with down) To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons.

to reason down a passion

8-(usually with out) To find by logical process; to explain or justify by reason or argument.

to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon