conclusion
Americannoun
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the end or close; final part.
- Synonyms:
- finale, completion, termination, ending
- Antonyms:
- beginning
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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
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a result, issue, or outcome; settlement or arrangement.
The restitution payment was one of the conclusions of the negotiations.
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final decision.
The judge has reached his conclusion.
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a reasoned deduction or inference.
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Logic. a proposition concluded or inferred from the premises of an argument.
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Law.
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the effect of an act by which the person performing the act is bound not to do anything inconsistent therewith; an estoppel.
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the end of a pleading or conveyance.
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Grammar. apodosis.
idioms
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in conclusion, finally.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for your attention.
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try conclusions with, to engage oneself in a struggle for victory or mastery over, as a person or an impediment.
noun
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end or termination
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the last main division of a speech, lecture, essay, etc
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the outcome or result of an act, process, event, etc (esp in the phrase a foregone conclusion )
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a final decision or judgment; resolution (esp in the phrase come to a conclusion )
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logic
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a statement that purports to follow from another or others (the premises ) by means of an argument
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a statement that does validly follow from given premises
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law
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an admission or statement binding on the party making it; estoppel
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the close of a pleading or of a conveyance
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lastly; to sum up
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to come to a conclusion prematurely, without sufficient thought or on incomplete evidence
Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
See end 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of conclusion
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
Explanation
A conclusion is the last part of something, its end or result. When you write a paper, you always end by summing up your arguments and drawing a conclusion about what you've been writing about. The phrase in conclusion means "finally, to sum up," and is used to introduce some final comments at the end of a speech or piece of writing. The phrase jump to conclusions means "to come to a judgment without enough evidence." A foregone conclusion is an outcome that seems certain.
Vocabulary lists containing conclusion
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Argumentative Writing
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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:
But he premised his conclusion only on statutory grounds; specifically, the Nationality Act of 1940.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Taken to its logical conclusion, a team that spent nothing on its players would, in theory, have had a slightly winning record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The researchers say these seemingly contradictory cosmological puzzles may actually point toward the same conclusion.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
His conclusion was blunt: "You must have officials within the system who will validate your corrupt behaviour."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Syracuse Herald published his conclusion, “I couldn’t tell where the raps came from.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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They reached their conclusions after analyzing trading histories of more than 5,000 individual prediction market contracts on Polymarket and Kalshi between October 2025 and this February.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The researchers also confirmed their conclusions using phase field simulations and electron backscatter diffraction measurements.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Other studies came to similar conclusions as McClure, HUD and the Congressional Budget Office.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Delivering the courts conclusions, Carr said "sentences of detention for X and Y were unavoidable".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The part of our brain that leaps to conclusions like this is called the adaptive unconscious, and the study of this kind of decision making is one of the most important new fields in psychology.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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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.