Library / English Dictionary

REASON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination

Example:

we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil

Synonyms:

intellect; reason; understanding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

faculty; mental faculty; module (one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind)

Derivation:

reason (think logically)

reason (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

reason (present reasons and arguments)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion

Example:

there is reason to believe he is lying

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

fact (a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reason"):

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An explanation of the cause of some phenomenon

Example:

the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

account; explanation (a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A justification for something existing or happening

Example:

they had good reason to rejoice

Synonyms:

cause; grounds; reason

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

justification (a statement in explanation of some action or belief)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A rational motive for a belief or action

Example:

the grounds for their declaration

Synonyms:

ground; reason

Classified under:

Nouns denoting goals

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

rational motive (a motive that can be defended by reasoning or logical argument)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reason"):

occasion (reason)

account; score (grounds)

wherefore; why (the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase 'the whys and wherefores')

Derivation:

reason (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The state of having good sense and sound judgment

Example:

he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions

Synonyms:

rationality; reason; reasonableness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):

saneness; sanity (normal or sound powers of mind)

Derivation:

reason (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

reason (present reasons and arguments)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Think logically

Example:

The children must learn to reason

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):

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)

categorise; categorize (place into or assign to a category)

calculate; cipher; compute; cypher; figure; reckon; work out (make a mathematical calculation or computation)

ratiocinate (reason methodologically and logically)

theorize (construct a theory about)

theorize (form or construct theories)

rationalise away; rationalize away (substitute a natural for a supernatural explanation of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

reason (the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination)

reasoner (someone who reasons logically)

reasoning (thinking that is coherent and logical)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion

Example:

We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house

Synonyms:

conclude; reason; reason out

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):

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)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They reason that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

reason (the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination)

reason (a rational motive for a belief or action)

reason (the state of having good sense and sound judgment)

reasoner (someone who reasons logically)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Present reasons and arguments

Synonyms:

argue; reason

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):

lay out; present; represent (bring forward and present to the mind)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):

re-argue (argue again)

expostulate (reason with (somebody) for the purpose of dissuasion)

defend; fend for; support (argue or speak in defense of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue reason

Sam wants to reason with Sue

Derivation:

reason (the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination)

reason (the state of having good sense and sound judgment)

reasoner (someone who reasons logically)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Terminology relevant to the reason the drug or therapy was temporarily ceased.

(CDISC SDTM Reason for Treatment Interruption Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A terminology codelist that contains reasons for non-system PCI delay.

(CDISC SDTM Non-system Reason for PCI Delay Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Terminology associated with the non-system reason for PCI delay codelist of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) Standard Data Tabulation Model (SDTM).

(CDISC SDTM Non-system Reason for PCI Delay Terminology, NCI Thesaurus)

See your healthcare provider if you seem to bruise for no reason, or if the bruise appears to be infected.

(Bruises, NIH)

The reason that a subject had a cardiac procedure.

(CDISC SDTM Cardiac Procedure Indication Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Is the patient very nervous, worried, or frightened for no apparent reason?

(NPI - Very Nervous, Worried, or Frightened for No Apparent Reason, NCI Thesaurus)

Yet some good reasons given might still lift me to the clouds once more.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I have no reason, from any thing that has fallen within my observation, to do otherwise.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

“Well,” said I, “that may be so, and so be it; all the more reason that I should hurry on and join my friends.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

For two good reasons, I will not enter deeply into this scientific branch of my confession.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)