reason

noun rea·son \ ˈrē-zᵊn \

Updated on: 15 Nov 2017

Definition of reason

1 a :a statement offered in explanation or justification

gave reasons that were quite satisfactory

b :a rational ground or motive

a good reason to act soon

c :a sufficient ground of explanation or of logical defense; especially :something (such as a principle or law) that supports a conclusion or explains a fact

the reasons behind her client's action

d :the thing that makes some fact intelligible :cause

the reason for earthquakes

the real reason why he wanted me to stay
—Graham Greene

2 a (1) :the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways :intelligence

(2) :proper exercise of the mind

(3) :sanity

b :the sum of the intellectual powers

3 archaic :treatment that affords satisfaction

— in reason

:rightly, justifiably

— within reason

:within reasonable limits

— with reason

:with good cause

See reason defined for English-language learners

See reason defined for kids

Examples of reason in a Sentence

I gave a reason for my absence.
Is there a reason for your strange behavior?
There is a reason why they don't want to come.
I can't give you the report for the simple reason that it isn't yet finished.
She explained her reasons for deciding to change jobs.
He wanted to know the reason for their decision.
Give me one good reason why I should believe you.
For obvious reasons, we can't do that yet.
For reasons of space, some of the charts and graphs have been omitted from the article.
She resigned for personal reasons.

Recent Examples of reason from the Web

Keeping it in the family: (1) Locally farmed ingredients and no additives are reason enough to try Mezcal Amarás.

— vanity fair, Vanities, "Shop, Sit, and Sip Sustainably in November," 29 Oct. 2017
But the true reason for her disappearance has been the subject of speculation among fans.

— ashley hoffman, Time, "9 Tiny Details You Might Have Missed in Stranger Things Season 2," 30 Oct. 2017
A pool of would-be workers remain on the sidelines, and there are reasons to think they can be pulled back into the game.

— jeanna smialek, Bloomberg.com, "Goldman Agrees With Dalio’s Tale of Two Economies: Eco Pulse," 31 Oct. 2017
Keeping it in the family: (1) Locally farmed ingredients and no additives are reason enough to try Mezcal Amarás.

— vanityfair.com, "Shop, Sit, and Sip Sustainably in November," 27 Oct. 2017
There is little reason to think that this arrangement had any determinative effect on the outcome of the 2016 primary.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Calls on the FBI to ‘Go After’ His Political Enemies (for Things That Aren’t Crimes)," 3 Nov. 2017
Those are some of the reasons that only four new drugs for treating cancer in children have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the past 25 years, versus more than 100 drugs for adult cancers.

— mitch leslie, Science | AAAS, "Researchers find fatal flaw in childhood tumors," 1 Nov. 2017
In at least a physical sense, there are no practical reasons why the U.S. couldn't hold someone at Guantanamo.

— CBS News, "Trump talks tough on Guantanamo, but doesn't differ much from Obama on policy," 3 Nov. 2017
One reason is a better understanding of medical complications that go with the disorder.

— danielle tcholakian, Longreads, "What Makes a Disability Undesirable?," 27 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reason.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of reason

Middle English resoun, from Anglo-French raisun, from Latin ration-, ratio reason, computation, from reri to calculate, think; probably akin to Goth rathjo account, explanation

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

reason Synonyms

Synonyms

account, accounting, argument, case, explanation, rationale

reason

verb

Definition of reason

reasoned; reasoning play \ˈrēz-niŋ, ˈrē-zᵊn-iŋ\

intransitive verb

1 a obsolete :to take part in conversation, discussion, or argument

b :to talk with another so as to influence actions or opinions

can't reason with them

2 :to use the faculty of reason so as to arrive at conclusions

transitive verb

1 archaic :to justify or support with reasons

2 :to persuade or influence by the use of reason

3 :to discover, formulate, or conclude by the use of reason

a carefully reasoned analysis

—

reasoner

play \ˈrēz-nər, ˈrē-zᵊn-ər\ noun

See reason defined for English-language learners

Examples of reason in a Sentence

He lost the ability to reason.
He reasoned that both statements couldn't be true.
She reasoned that something must be wrong.

Recent Examples of reason from the Web

Their thoughts and dialogue are pitch perfect, reasoned and well-thought-out.

— jocelyn mcclurg, USA TODAY, "Weekend picks for book lovers: 'George & Lizzie' by Nancy Pearl," 23 Sep. 2017
Compounding that problem, Judge Mazzant reasoned, was the decision-making of Henderson.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "What the Ezekiel Elliott Decision Means for Him, the NFL and Other Players," 9 Sep. 2017
The pickup is a 'tweener: Nissan reasoned that there are buyers who would prefer more payload and tow capability than a light pickup but can do without the higher tow ratings - and prices - of the competition's heavy-duty workhorses.

— jeff yip, Houston Chronicle, "Newest Nissan Titan XD could be 'King' of versatility," 3 Nov. 2017
Her essay reads like a Supreme Court brief, closely reasoned and deeply researched, without emotion or cliches.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Anchorage teen speaks her mind to Supreme Court justice about immigration, civil rights," 24 July 2017
Measuring the movement of the elephants’ trunks, the team reasoned, would be the best way to tell whether or not the animals were sleeping.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "African Elephants Sleep Just Two Hours Per Day, and Nobody Knows Why," 2 Mar. 2017
The foreign ministers used the backdrop of President Donald Trump's first turn on the world stage to try to cast their countries as standard-bearers of a peaceful, democratic and reasoned approach to global affairs.

— nicole gaouette, CNN, "Russia, China use UN stage to push back on a US-led world order," 21 Sep. 2017
So argue Lee Drutman and Steven Teles, two academics, who reason that Congress is increasingly incapable of creating policies.

— The Economist, "Lobbyists go underground," 31 Aug. 2017
To determine where the mutations arose in each patient, researchers looked for the cells with the fewest mutations, reasoning that these were likely where the process started.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Ovarian cancer may actually arise in Fallopian tubes," 23 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of reason

15th century

reason Synonyms

Synonyms

conclude, decide, deduce, derive, extrapolate, gather, judge, make out, infer, understand

Related Words

assume, suppose; conjecture, guess, speculate, surmise; construe, interpret, read; contemplate, philosophize, rationalize, think; ascertain, dope (out), find out

Synonym Discussion of reason

think, cogitate, reflect, reason, speculate, deliberate mean to use one's powers of conception, judgment, or inference. think is general and may apply to any mental activity, but used alone often suggests attainment of clear ideas or conclusions.

- teaches students how to think

cogitate implies deep or intent thinking.

- cogitated on the mysteries of nature

reflect suggests unhurried consideration of something recalled to the mind.

- reflecting on fifty years of married life

reason stresses consecutive logical thinking.

- able to reason brilliantly in debate

speculate implies reasoning about things theoretical or problematic.

- speculated on the fate of the lost explorers

deliberate suggests slow or careful reasoning before forming an opinion or reaching a conclusion or decision.

- the jury deliberated for five hours

REASON Defined for English Language Learners

reason

noun

Definition of reason for English Language Learners

: a statement or fact that explains why something is the way it is, why someone does, thinks, or says something, or why someone behaves a certain way
: a fact, condition, or situation that makes it proper or appropriate to do something, feel something, etc.
: the power of the mind to think and understand in a logical way

reason

verb

Definition of reason for English Language Learners

: to think in a logical way
: to form (a conclusion or judgment) by thinking logically

REASON Defined for Kids

reason

noun rea·son \ ˈrē-zᵊn \

Definition of reason for Students

1 :a statement given to explain a belief or an act

My parents gave a reason for my absence.

2 :a fact that makes something right or fair to do

I have reasons for what I did.

3 :¹cause 1

The child wanted to know the reason for rain.

4 :the power to think and understand in a logical way

5 :a fair and sensible way of thinking about something

He won't listen to reason.

reason

verb

Definition of reason for Students

reasoned; reasoning

1 :to think in a logical way

2 :to talk with another in a sensible way so as to influence his or her actions or opinions

“It's a fear you can't be … reasoned out of.”
—Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie

3 :to state or ask logically

How, I reasoned, could such a thing happen?

Law Dictionary

reason

noun rea·son

legal Definition of reason

1 :an underlying ground, justification, purpose, motive, or inducement

required to provide reasons for the termination in writing

2 a :the faculty of comprehending, inferring, or distinguishing especially in a fair and orderly way

b :the proper and sane exercise of the mind

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reason

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