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ratiocination

[rash-ee-os-uh-ney-shuh n, -oh-suh-, rat-ee-]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ratiocination ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the process of logical reasoning.

Origin of ratiocination

1520–30; < Latin ratiōcinātiōn- (stem of ratiōcinātiō), equivalent to ratiōcināt(us) (see ratiocinate) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsra·ti·oc·i·na·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ratiocination

argumentation, coherence, inference, rationale, relationship, deduction, philosophy, syllogism, connection, sanity, reason, rationality, thesis, sense, dialectic, induction, linkage

Examples from the Web for ratiocination

Historical Examples of ratiocination

Yes, Uncle Reub'; ratiocination is a good word in its place.
Moriah's Mourning and Other Half-Hour Sketches
Ruth McEnery Stuart
Its two constituent parts are ratiocination and description.
The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Nine Volumes
Samuel Johnson
So, when the steaks were done, we besought him to lay bare his system of ratiocination.
Sixes and Sevens
O. Henry
Words seem to be the vehicles rather of ratiocination than of emotion.
Of Walks and Walking Tours
Arnold Haultain
To be in love is in a measure to part company with the power of ratiocination.
Mlle. Fouchette
Charles Theodore Murray

Word Origin and History for ratiocination

n.

"process of reasoning," 1520s, from Latin ratiocinationem (nominative ratiocinatio) "a reasoning, calm reasoning," from past participle stem of ratiocinare "to calculate, deliberate," from ratio (see ratio) + -cinari, which probably is related to conari "to try" (see conation).

Most writers make ratiocination synonymous with reasoning. J.S. Mill and others hold that the word is usually limited to necessary reasoning. [Century Dictionary]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper