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
JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2025
The site has a long series of articles and manifestos explaining their reasoning.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Michell was reasoning from Newton’s laws.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Noun
By refusing to specify details of the case, the government keeps the possibility alive of changing their reasoning or their claims to have the same effect for different reasons—just as the mob changes its reasoning for killing Cinna.
—JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2025
The site has a long series of articles and manifestos explaining their reasoning.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
The Supreme Court disagreed, reasoning the membership relationship between UNLV and the NCAA didn’t warrant a finding of state action by the NCAA.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Michell was reasoning from Newton’s laws.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reasoning
Adjective
-
Eggers' stunning visuals and meticulous pace draw viewers into their increasingly desperate mania, gradually wedging open the door between rational interpretation and supernatural inescapability.—
Dennis Perkins,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The results showed that the chimps’ decisions aligned with rational patterns of belief revision.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Set during the Yongle Era, Xixi said that Blade of Vengeance would break from the norm and the in-world drama would focus on realism and logic rather than fantastical feats, with the production emphasizing the real location shooting and hard-hitting action.—
Abid Rahman,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The limits of logic To test whether this informational foundation could be simulated, the team relied on mathematical principles, including Gödel’s incompleteness theorem.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Without understanding what her body is undergoing, Pagli dies alone in labor.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Redditors in the comment section were appreciative of the woman’s lighthearted attitude about the mix-up and praised her for being understanding.—
Emily Rella,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The two were arguing inside a car and then got out of the car, where the fight escalated, police said.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
One report, citing a source close to Sheridan, even claimed the writer was annoyed that Paramount sent too many of its top suits to a meeting designed to keep Sheridan onboard, arguing that Ellison had messed up by bringing more than two execs along with him.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
For the first time, a machine was able to do what only intelligent humans had previously done.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Humans have a much larger neocortex than other animals, relative to body size, and the species with the largest neocortices—elephants, dolphins, gorillas, chimpanzees, dogs—are among the most intelligent.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
During the tour for the band's previous album, We, singer Feist dropped out of the lineup as the opening act, citing the accusations against Butler as the reason for her departure.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
There are many reasons to want to preserve or rebuild oyster reefs, researchers say.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both sides think more like lawyers than historians, deriving their satisfaction from scoring points as advocates for their respective clients.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
One of the Super Bowl contending teams who could be active at the deadline is the Buffalo Bills.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
-
That will be another tough test, as Carolina faces Jordan Love and the potential Super Bowl-contending Green Bay Packers.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reasoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reasoning. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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