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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reasoning
Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
As companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic push for artificial general intelligence, which requires more reasoning capabilities, those will be the models that push the frontier.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2025
The new puzzles are more complex than those from 2019, sometimes requiring the application of multiple rules, reasoning for multiple steps, or interpreting symbols.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Noun
Last month, Cupertino became the latest Bay Area city to impose strict restrictions on RVs parking on city streets, with both city councilmembers and residents referencing the bans elsewhere in their reasoning.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
As companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic push for artificial general intelligence, which requires more reasoning capabilities, those will be the models that push the frontier.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
Michell was reasoning from Newton’s laws.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2025
The new puzzles are more complex than those from 2019, sometimes requiring the application of multiple rules, reasoning for multiple steps, or interpreting symbols.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reasoning
Adjective
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This season, fluorescent pink, blue and white formed a rational yet romantic palette — a vision of a young schoolgirl poised to step into the real world.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
17 Oct. 2025
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Their work could be a critical step toward the safe and rational decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and the technology could be applied to nuclear accident sites elsewhere in the world.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But with the rise of AI, that logic is flipping.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
16 Oct. 2025
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That logic is true in one sense and hilariously false in the another.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For executives rallying employees around strategy or transformation, understanding these perceptions is critical.—
Jason Del Rey,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
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The findings mark a crucial advance in understanding how human life begins, and how it might be repaired.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Spanberger has called for the state government to stay out of decisions about who uses what bathrooms and locker rooms, arguing that's best left up to parents, teachers, students, and their school districts.—
Margaret Barthel,
NPR,
16 Oct. 2025
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Easley has voted against a few proposals made by Superintendent Hill, including the SYDKIMYL contract extension and this year’s budget, arguing its teacher raises were too small.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Mark Simon is the VP of Strategy at Celigo, a leading intelligent automation platform, where he's helped thousands of ecommerce customers including major consumer brands in their digital integration and automation journeys.—
Mark Simon,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
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These intelligent dogs are highly active and energetic, but respond well to obedience training.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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When looking for reasons the Nuggets will win a championship, Braun belongs high on the checklist.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
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Same reason Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki – who has emerged as the Dodgers’ surprise solution at closer – brought his talents here.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Specifically, Larsson was searching for dentalium shells—the long, tubular shells deriving from dentaliums, a type of marine mollusk.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
13 Oct. 2025
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In the years since, Wickelgren, Kass and others have reframed a host of other enumerative problems using motivic homotopy theory, deriving the relevant quadratic forms in various number systems.—
Joseph Howlett,
Quanta Magazine,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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If those two QBs can increase their production, Denver and Jacksonville have a better shot at contending.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Many of the year’s top Oscar-contending documentaries are set for exhibition at the 11th annual Doc Stories, the prestigious four-day cinematic event in San Francisco put on by SFFILM.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reasoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reasoning. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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