reason

American  

[ree-zuhn] / ˈri zən /

noun

• reasons
  plural

1. a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc..

   the reasons for declaring war.

   Synonyms:

   objective, object, aim, end, purpose

2. a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.

   I dare you to give me one good reason for quitting school!

3. sufficient cause, as produced by a situation that makes an act, feeling, etc., obviously proper or appropriate.

   After the mess he made of our yard, we have good reason to look for another landscaper.

   Synonyms:

   rationalization, excuse

4. the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.

   Effective leadership requires a person of reason.

   Synonyms:

   intelligence, mind, intellect, understanding

5. sound judgment; good sense.

6. normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.

7. Logic. a premise of an argument.

8. Philosophy.

   1. the faculty or power of acquiring intellectual knowledge, either by direct understanding of first principles or by argument.

   2. the power of intelligent and dispassionate thought, or of conduct influenced by such thought.

   3. Kantianism. the faculty by which the ideas of pure reason are created.

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verb (used without object)

• reasons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reasoned,
  past participle,  past
• reasoning
  present participle

1. to think or argue in a logical manner.

2. to form conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises.

3. to urge reasons which should determine belief or action.

   Synonyms:

   persuade

verb (used with object)

• reasons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reasoned,
  past participle,  past
• reasoning
  present participle

1. to think through logically, as a problem (often followed byout ).

2. to conclude or infer.

3. to convince, persuade, etc., by reasoning.

4. to support with reasons.

idioms

1. bring (someone) to reason, to induce a change of opinion in (someone) through presentation of arguments; convince.

   The mother tried to bring her rebellious daughter to reason.

2. in / within reason, in accord with reason; justifiable; proper.

   She tried to keep her demands in reason.

3. by reason of, on account of; because of.

   He was consulted about the problem by reason of his long experience.

4. stand to reason, to be clear, obvious, or logical.

   With such an upbringing it stands to reason that the child will be spoiled.

5. with reason, with justification; properly.

   The government is concerned about the latest crisis, and with reason.

reason British  

/ ˈriːzən /

noun

1. the faculty of rational argument, deduction, judgment, etc

2. sound mind; sanity

3. a cause or motive, as for a belief, action, etc

4. an argument in favour of or a justification for something

5. philosophy the intellect regarded as a source of knowledge, as contrasted with experience

6. logic grounds for a belief; a premise of an argument supporting that belief

7. because of

8. within moderate or justifiable bounds

9. it is logical or obvious

   it stands to reason that he will lose

10. to be persuaded peaceably

11. political justifications for an immoral act

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verb

1. (when tr, takes a clause as object) to think logically or draw (logical conclusions) from facts or premises

2. to urge or seek to persuade by reasoning

3. to work out or resolve (a problem) by reasoning

reason More Idioms  

1. see by reason of; in reason; it stands to reason; listen to reason; lose one's mind (reason); rhyme or reason; see reason; stand to reason; with reason.

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Usage

The construction reason is because is criticized in a number of usage guides: The reason for the long delays was because the costs greatly exceeded the original estimates. One objection to this construction is based on its redundancy: the word because (literally, by cause ) contains within it the meaning of reason; thus saying the reason is because is like saying “The cause is by cause,” which would never be said. A second objection is based on the claim that because can introduce only adverbial clauses and that reason is requires completion by a noun clause. Critics would substitute that for because in the offending construction: The reason for the long delays in completing the project was that the costs. … Although the objections described here are frequently raised, reason is because is still common in almost all levels of speech and occurs often in edited writing as well. A similar charge of redundancy is made against the reason why, which is also a well-established idiom: The reason why the bill failed to pass was the defection of three key senators.

The expression the reason is because… should be avoided. Instead one should say either this is because… or the reason is that…

Synonym Usage

Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim's display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber's extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreason
  noun
• nonreasoner
  noun
• reasoner
  noun
• subreason
  noun
• outreason
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reasons
  plural

Participles

• reasoning
  present
• reasoned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reason
  simple
• reasons
  simple
• have reasoned
  perfect
• has reasoned
  perfect
• am reasoning
  progressive
• are reasoning
  progressive
• is reasoning
  progressive
• have been reasoning
  perfect progressive
• has been reasoning
  perfect progressive

Past

• reasoned
  simple
• had reasoned
  perfect
• was reasoning
  progressive
• were reasoning
  progressive
• had been reasoning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reason
  simple
• will have reasoned
  perfect
• will be reasoning
  progressive
• will have been reasoning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of reason

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English resoun, reisun (noun), from Old French reisun, reson, from Latin ratiōn- (stem of ratiō ) ratio

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Explanation

A reason explains why you do something. The reason you go to school is to learn things (and because it's the law). Reason usually has to do with thought and logic, as opposed to emotion. If people think you show good reason, or are reasonable, it means you think things through. If people think you have a good reason for doing something, it means you have a motive that makes sense. Reason can also be a verb. You might reason something out, which means that you look at all sides of the issue and then and decide what to do.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reason reasons reasoned reasoning

There is a reason for doing that - it draws you together and allows you to create a bit more determination and drive to be successful.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Instead, unexpectedly low testosterone could be a reason to investigate a person's overall health.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026

The board said it has no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

The company’s board said in a statement Sunday it has no reason to believe either the company’s secrets or national security were compromised.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

That was a long time ago—we don’t play anymore, for the same reason we don’t come into this room often.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Technology analyst Dan Ives, at investment bank Yorkville Ives, said the crisis will at the very least spark multiple congressional inquiries and "create an overhang on the stock for a myriad of reasons".

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

Jill, whose name has been changed for legal reasons, said she was a young Harrods employee when she was recruited to what she believed was an executive training scheme in the 1990s.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

There are good reasons for concern, although not because of Congress, which would need a lot of Republicans to vote with the Democrats to override the presidential veto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, cited the minimum wage rollback as one of the reasons his union abandoned Bass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2026

For reasons she didn’t fully understand, Sara believed him.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

The researchers reasoned that other peptides generated through similar processing might also help regulate appetite and energy use.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

“I reasoned that the intensity of his anger at me, anger that could make him spit and throw things, was proportionate to the intensity of our creative connection,” Dunham wrote in the book.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

With the 19 addresses of “So Ordered”—each adapted as a tightly reasoned essay—Justice Alito affords the legal commentariat an unexacting way to understand his thought.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Amazon also could offset pressure on the advertising segment through other areas of the business, he reasoned, noting that any pressure would likely amount to a small fraction of overall revenue.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

Perhaps Burr reasoned that, since he was being treated as a new Benedict Arnold, he might as well enjoy the fruits of a similar treason.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

These cells are located in the cerebral cortex, the outer region of the brain involved in complex functions such as perception, reasoning, and decision-making.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026

Many Texas Hispanics who spoke to the BBC before the election pointed to Trump's immigration crackdown as the reasoning behind their change of heart.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

This is another reason why Vanguard focused on accounts with $100,000 or more, reasoning that people would be less likely to forget a high balance.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

At first, the models stumbled on tricky problems that required complex multistep reasoning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

I stare at her beautiful sleeping head and try to extract her reasoning.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

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Related Words

• argument
• basis
• cause
• consideration
• goal
• idea
• impetus
• incentive
• motivation
• motive
• proof
• purpose
• rationale

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