ratiocination

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

/ ˌræʃ iˌɒs əˈneɪ ʃən, -ˌoʊ sə-, ˌræt i- /

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See synonyms for: ratiocination / ratiocinative on Thesaurus.com

noun

the process of logical reasoning.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

Origin of ratiocination

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

ra·ti·oc·i·na·tive, adjective

This is joining two probabilities by way of Ratiocination or Deduction; the result of which is a less probability than either.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
And, even when he sides with the opposite school, it does not mean that he trusts to any scientific process of ratiocination.
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King
The former would be ranked, in our distribution, among fallacies of generalization, the latter among those of ratiocination.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
At the same time I needn't say that in this affair that we're now in the middle of—there's no question of ratiocination.
The Title|Arnold Bennett

Abraham arrived at this belief through ratiocination and endeavored to convince others.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik