Synonyms of reasoning

reasoning 1 of 3

adjective

as in rational

having the ability to reason

judged by the courts not to be a reasoning being who could be held accountable for his crimes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rational
• intelligent
• thinking
• reasonable
• logical
• analytic
• mental
• cognitive
• practical
• intellectual
• cerebral
• sensible
• cognitional
• sane
• brainy
• highbrow
• highbrowed
• levelheaded
• sober

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• irrational
• unreasonable
• nonrational
• unthinking
• unintelligent
• unreasoning
• stupid
• dumb
• slow
• dense
• obtuse
• senseless
• fatuous
• nonthinking
• mindless
• illogical
• dull
• fallacious
• dopey
• nonsensical
• brainless
• invalid
• groundless
• dorky
• doltish
• thickheaded
• half-witted

reasoning

2 of 3

noun

ˈrēz-niŋ 

as in logic

the thought processes that have been established as leading to valid solutions to problems

your reasoning here is faulty, for although all wives are spouses, not all spouses are wives

Synonyms & Similar Words

• logic
• reason
• argumentation
• sense
• logicality
• intellection
• ratiocination
• logicalness
• rationality
• analysis
• persuasiveness
• coherence
• synthesis
• cogency
• syllogism
• deduction
• dissection
• convincingness
• induction
• disputation
• rationalness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• illogic
• incoherence
• absurdity
• irrationality
• insanity
• preposterousness
• senselessness
• nonsensicalness
• brainlessness

reasoning

3 of 3

verb

present participle of reason

1

as in understanding

to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information

she reasoned that since all of the cakes were on sale for the same price, she might as well pick the biggest one

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understanding
• deriving
• deciding
• thinking
• concluding
• inferring
• deducing
• extrapolating
• judging
• guessing
• assuming
• speculating
• reading
• ascertaining
• drawing a conclusion
• supposing
• gathering
• making out
• interpreting
• rationalizing
• construing
• surmising
• conjecturing
• contemplating
• philosophizing
• finding out
• doping (out)

2

as in arguing

to state (something) as a reason in support of or against something under consideration

he tried to reason that no one in their right mind would buy his brother's old video games, but they were put on the online auction anyway

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arguing
• contending
• pleading
• convincing
• explaining
• asserting
• justifying
• insisting
• maintaining
• claiming
• mentioning
• suggesting
• persuading
• considering
• citing
• proposing
• affirming
• adducing
• defending
• rationalizing
• discussing
• enforcing
• advocating
• advising
• offering
• urging
• submitting
• recommending
• refuting
• debating
• advancing
• giving
• counseling
• averring
• supporting
• avowing
• countering
• avouching
• espousing
• disproving
• championing
• confuting
• rebutting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of reasoning

Noun

And yet his reasoning pulls us past that same moral boundary with him. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 June 2026

Though Grella has taken the arrows from Australian press and former players, his underlying reasoning is widely shared. —Tom Bogert, New York Times, 16 June 2026

Verb

Initially working out of a facility in the industrial section of Seattle, Stephenson gathered a group of like minds to brainstorm new methods for reaching space, reasoning that chemical rockets had not much improved in the decades since their debut. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May 2026

Although studio Universal had wanted to skip critic screenings, Gunn managed to persuade them otherwise, reasoning that some positive reviews might sell a few extra tickets. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 May 2026