reason
Americannoun
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reasons
plural
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a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc..
the reasons for declaring war.
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a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.
I dare you to give me one good reason for quitting school!
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sufficient cause, as produced by a situation that makes an act, feeling, etc., obviously proper or appropriate.
After the mess he made of our yard, we have good reason to look for another landscaper.
- Synonyms:
- rationalization, excuse
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the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.
Effective leadership requires a person of reason.
- Synonyms:
- intelligence, mind, intellect, understanding
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sound judgment; good sense.
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normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.
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Logic. a premise of an argument.
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Philosophy.
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the faculty or power of acquiring intellectual knowledge, either by direct understanding of first principles or by argument.
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the power of intelligent and dispassionate thought, or of conduct influenced by such thought.
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Kantianism. the faculty by which the ideas of pure reason are created.
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verb (used without object)
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reasons,
present (3rd person singular)
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reasoned,
past participle, past
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reasoning
present participle
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to think or argue in a logical manner.
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to form conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises.
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to urge reasons which should determine belief or action.
- Synonyms:
- persuade
verb (used with object)
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reasons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reasoned,
past participle, past
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reasoning
present participle
-
to think through logically, as a problem (often followed byout ).
-
to conclude or infer.
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to convince, persuade, etc., by reasoning.
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to support with reasons.
idioms
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bring (someone) to reason, to induce a change of opinion in (someone) through presentation of arguments; convince.
The mother tried to bring her rebellious daughter to reason.
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in / within reason, in accord with reason; justifiable; proper.
She tried to keep her demands in reason.
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by reason of, on account of; because of.
He was consulted about the problem by reason of his long experience.
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stand to reason, to be clear, obvious, or logical.
With such an upbringing it stands to reason that the child will be spoiled.
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with reason, with justification; properly.
The government is concerned about the latest crisis, and with reason.
noun
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the faculty of rational argument, deduction, judgment, etc
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sound mind; sanity
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a cause or motive, as for a belief, action, etc
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an argument in favour of or a justification for something
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philosophy the intellect regarded as a source of knowledge, as contrasted with experience
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logic grounds for a belief; a premise of an argument supporting that belief
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because of
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within moderate or justifiable bounds
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it is logical or obvious
it stands to reason that he will lose
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to be persuaded peaceably
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political justifications for an immoral act
verb
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(when tr, takes a clause as object) to think logically or draw (logical conclusions) from facts or premises
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to urge or seek to persuade by reasoning
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to work out or resolve (a problem) by reasoning
Usage
The construction reason is because is criticized in a number of usage guides: The reason for the long delays was because the costs greatly exceeded the original estimates. One objection to this construction is based on its redundancy: the word because (literally, by cause ) contains within it the meaning of reason; thus saying the reason is because is like saying “The cause is by cause,” which would never be said. A second objection is based on the claim that because can introduce only adverbial clauses and that reason is requires completion by a noun clause. Critics would substitute that for because in the offending construction: The reason for the long delays in completing the project was that the costs. … Although the objections described here are frequently raised, reason is because is still common in almost all levels of speech and occurs often in edited writing as well. A similar charge of redundancy is made against the reason why, which is also a well-established idiom: The reason why the bill failed to pass was the defection of three key senators.
The expression the reason is because… should be avoided. Instead one should say either this is because… or the reason is that…
Synonym Usage
Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim's display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber's extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reasonsimple
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reasonssimple
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have reasonedperfect
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has reasonedperfect
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am reasoningprogressive
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are reasoningprogressive
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is reasoningprogressive
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have been reasoningperfect progressive
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has been reasoningperfect progressive
Past
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reasonedsimple
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had reasonedperfect
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was reasoningprogressive
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were reasoningprogressive
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had been reasoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reason
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English resoun, reisun (noun), from Old French reisun, reson, from Latin ratiōn- (stem of ratiō ) ratio
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing reason
Argumentative Writing
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Think Tank: Thought-Provoking Vocabulary
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Argumentative Writing, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The possibility that a single outpatient treatment could provide relief lasting several years is one reason researchers are closely studying what happens inside the knee after GAE.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
The reason is the high value of copper, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
One reason Beijing is in favour of their approach is that it has worked well for them.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
First, you have reason to be concerned about your mother’s welfare, particularly after she gave a neighbor $2,000 for cleaning out her garage.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
He didn’t tell her the real reason, which was that he hated caves.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Californians over 70 were already able to excuse themselves from jury duty for medical reasons without documentation upon selection, but AB 1359 will allow octogenarians to do so permanently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
"There's use going on at school. That's really difficult. And, unfortunately for many of these children they are not able to attend education for various reasons."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Well it’s worse even than you’re describing, for two reasons.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Instead, McKinsey’s review found the most common reasons for dividend cuts were the less-flattering ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
I have plenty of reasons to use the internet that don’t involve searching for my missing mother.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
It characterized the injury as one arising from “offense, disagreement, or distaste” and reasoned that allowing such an interest to establish standing could permit citizens to challenge virtually any government project that offends their sensibilities.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
The researchers reasoned that nanoparticles could be separated from the reaction mixture through centrifugation, which could make it easier to recover the DNA afterward.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Thus, prosecutors reasoned that they could not prove Tilford created the recording and did so without the others’ knowledge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
At one point the AI reasoned that it should wait a few minutes before posting from its sockpuppet account because that would be more believable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
He may have reasoned that if I was encamped in the store and saw him coming, I might be frightened, and might try to drive him away.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
The military’s reasoning was that leaking some of the information about these interplanetary conflicts might reduce the shock to the public the day the real revelations came.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
The forebrain supports many of the abilities people most closely associate with complex thought, including language, consciousness and abstract reasoning.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
They said first-year students are at times arriving in classrooms lacking basic math and reasoning skills and they have often resorted to teaching remedial middle-school math concepts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
If that can happen in a domain that requires the highest levels of reasoning, it can happen anywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
It is a standard ploy of opponents of relativism to argue that we all share certain commonsensical capacities for reasoning, and thus we can all recognize better knowledge when we see it.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
