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deduce

[dih-doos, -dyoos]
See more synonyms for deduce on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), de·duced, de·duc·ing.
  1. to derive as a conclusion from something known or assumed; infer: From the evidence the detective deduced that the gardener had done it.
  2. to trace the derivation of; trace the course of: to deduce one's lineage.
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Origin of deduce

1520–30; < Latin dēdūcere to lead down, derive, equivalent to dē- de- + dūcere to lead, bring
Related formsde·duc·i·ble, adjectivede·duc·i·bil·i·ty, de·duc·i·ble·ness, nounde·duc·i·bly, adverbnon·de·duc·i·ble, adjectivesub·de·duc·i·ble, adjectiveun·de·duced, adjectiveun·de·duc·i·ble, adjective
Can be confusedadduce deduce inducededuce deductdeducible deductible

Synonyms

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1. conclude, reason, gather, determine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for deduce

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • If you deduce a good Providence from the good things in nature, what do you make of the evil?

  • I deduce that a lot of my sweetness has been wasted on the desert air.

  • It was not given to him to deduce from his splendid work the results to which they were destined to lead.

  • Now, from this fact, the philosopher will at once deduce the climate of this region.

    Old Mackinaw

    W. P. Strickland.

  • Or could you deduce from the existence of frontal horns that the animal ruminates?

    Form and Function

    E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

British Dictionary definitions for deduce

deduce

verb (tr)
  1. (may take a clause as object) to reach (a conclusion about something) by reasoning; conclude (that); infer
  2. archaic to trace the origin, course, or derivation of
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Derived Formsdeducible, adjectivededucibility or deducibleness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin dēdūcere to lead away, derive, from de- + dūcere to lead
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deduce

v.

early 15c., from Latin deducere "lead down, derive" (in Medieval Latin, "infer logically"), from de- "down" (see de-) + ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Originally literal; sense of "draw a conclusion from something already known" is first recorded 1520s, from Medieval Latin. Related: Deduced; deducing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper