reasoning

American  

[ree-zuh-ning, reez-ning] / ˈri zə nɪŋ, ˈriz nɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of a person who reasons.

2. the process of forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises.

3. the reasons, arguments, proofs, etc., resulting from this process.

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reasoning British  

/ ˈriːzənɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of drawing conclusions from facts, evidence, etc

2. the arguments, proofs, etc, so adduced

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Other Word Forms

• half-reasoning adjective
• nonreasoning adjective
• reasoningly adverb

Etymology

Origin of reasoning

First recorded in 1325–75, reasoning is from the Middle English word resoninge. See reason, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Although Hatami understands the reasoning behind SB 1437, he believes the law should be amended to exempt child abuse cases.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Marvell’s chips and accelerators should be even more valuable in a world driven by agentic AI, seeing as the technology requires continuous loops of reasoning, tool use, memory retrieval, and task coordination.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Their reasoning appeared to largely rest on historical precedent: When stocks retreat due to a geopolitical shock, they often recover within a matter of weeks, if not days.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

Robots, Melania Trump insisted, can teach “deep critical thinking and independent reasoning abilities.”

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

Ridgeway wiped his face and explained his reasoning.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• acumen
• analysis
• argument
• hypothesis
• inference
• interpretation
• premise
• proposition
• rationale
• thinking