conclusion

[ kuhn-kloo-zhuhn ]

noun

1. the end or close; final part.

   Synonyms: finale, completion, termination, ending

   Antonyms: beginning

2. the last main division of a discourse, usually containing a summing up of the points and a statement of opinion or decisions reached.

   Synonyms: summation

3. a result, issue, or outcome; settlement or arrangement:

   The restitution payment was one of the conclusions of the negotiations.

4. final decision:

   The judge has reached his conclusion.

5. a reasoned deduction or inference.
6. Logic. a proposition concluded or inferred from the premises of an argument.
7. Law.
   1. the effect of an act by which the person performing the act is bound not to do anything inconsistent therewith; an estoppel.
   2. the end of a pleading or conveyance.
8. Grammar. apodosis.

conclusion

/ kənˈkluːʒən /

noun

1. end or termination
2. the last main division of a speech, lecture, essay, etc
3. the outcome or result of an act, process, event, etc (esp in the phrase a foregone conclusion )
4. a final decision or judgment; resolution (esp in the phrase come to a conclusion )
5. logic
   1. a statement that purports to follow from another or others (the premises ) by means of an argument
   2. a statement that does validly follow from given premises
6. law
   1. an admission or statement binding on the party making it; estoppel
   2. the close of a pleading or of a conveyance
7. in conclusion
   in conclusion lastly; to sum up
8. jump to conclusions
   jump to conclusions to come to a conclusion prematurely, without sufficient thought or on incomplete evidence

Other Words From

• con·clusion·al adjective
• con·clusion·al·ly adverb
• noncon·clusion noun
• precon·clusion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conclusion¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin conclūsiōn-, stem of conclūsiō “a closing,” equivalent to conclūs(us) “closed” (past participle of conclūdere conclude ) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of conclusion¹

C14: via Old French from Latin; see conclude , -ion

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in conclusion, finally:

   In conclusion, I would like to thank you for your attention.

2. try conclusions with, to engage oneself in a struggle for victory or mastery over, as a person or an impediment.

More idioms and phrases containing conclusion

see foregone conclusion ; jump to a conclusion .

Synonym Study

See end ¹.

Example Sentences

The conclusions were drawn by the majority staff under committee Chairman Peter DeFazio.

From Fortune

It has been a difficult journey for her, but fortunately it has a happy conclusion.

From Washington Blade

The real conclusion, yet again, is that getting the most bang out of your altitude buck is complicated and highly individual.

From Outside Online

Westlake has disputed the conclusions and details of a legislative report that corroborated three women’s complaints that he made unwanted sexual advances.

From ProPublica

Local research into police stops has reached similar conclusions.

From Voice of San Diego

Was there an investigation of people at DOJ before they arrived at that conclusion?

From The Daily Beast

Editorial and political cartoon pages from throughout the world almost unanimously came to the same conclusion.

From The Daily Beast

Following this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, the way to achieve world peace is to give everyone atomic bombs.

From The Daily Beast

In that sense, the last Report was mildly unsatisfying as a conclusion, in that it left so much unresolved.

From The Daily Beast

Magnum came into being as a cooperative only two years after the conclusion of World War II.

From The Daily Beast

And the others, not knowing that he had that day repented, sat at their distance and tried to form no conclusion.

From Project Gutenberg

The conclusion is reached that, despite these drawbacks, the Jesuit mission in Canada has made a hopeful beginning.

From Project Gutenberg

The interest of the story is now at an end; but much yet remains before the conclusion.

From Project Gutenberg

How would the involuntary accusation have been embittered, had he known that the Empress drew the same conclusion!

From Project Gutenberg

I made the experiment two years ago, and all my experience since has corroborated the conclusion then arrived at.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• closure
• completion
• consequence
• denouement
• development
• ending
• outcome
• result

More About Conclusion

What is a conclusion?

The conclusion is the final section of an essay. It summarizes the points made in the essay and restates the thesis statement in different words.

Students are usually taught to write an essay in three parts, with the first part being the introduction, followed by the body and ending with a conclusion.

While the introduction is often considered the most important part of an essay, the conclusion is often the trickiest part to write. The goal of the conclusion is to summarize all of the major points of the essay without repeating them word for word.

Articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, research papers, and other types of writing also include conclusions to tie all the points together and emphasize their importance.

Why is conclusion important?

The first records of the word conclusion come from around 1300. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb conclūdere, meaning “to end an argument.”

Just like with introductions, your teacher will likely tell you that the conclusion should only be as long as it needs to be to do its job.

To write a good conclusion, you often begin with a transition and restate your thesis using different wording from the introduction. Next, you’ll repeat the main points you made in the body using the same wording and without introducing any new information or arguments. You can then end your conclusion with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action that demonstrates the importance of the essay’s topic.

The most important job of the conclusion is to tie everything together and to avoid rambling or repeating things that have already been said.

Did you know … ?

Because the conclusion comes last in an essay, writers often write it last. This can make writing the conclusion easier because you know what your introduction and body say.

What are real-life examples of conclusion?

This image gives an example of how an effective conclusion can be used even in an essay covering a complex subject.

<img loading="lazy" src="https://library.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/123229/Example-conclusion-paragraph.png" alt="" width="1916" height="921" />

Library.aut.ac.nz

While most students aren’t fans of writing conclusions, they often see them as the finish line of essay writing.

The conclusion to my essay on "Savitri: Some Aspects of Its Style."
Ed. RY. Deshpande. Perspectives of Savitri, Part II. pic.twitter.com/bUJCEaAJcn

— Goutam Ghosal (@GoutamGhosal3) June 4, 2021

What other words are related to conclusion?

• essay
• introduction
• body
• thesis statement
• summary

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

The conclusion repeats the thesis statement and summarizes the main points of the essay.