reason
noun
\
Definition of reason
(Entry 1 of 2)
reason
verb
, ˈrē-zᵊn-iŋ \
Definition of reason (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from reason
Verb
, ˈrē-zᵊn-ər \
noun
Synonyms for reason
Synonyms: Noun
account, accounting, argument, case, explanation, rationale
Synonyms: Verb
conclude, decide, deduce, derive, extrapolate, gather, infer, judge, make out, understand
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Examples of reason in a Sentence
Noun
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.Verb
He lost the ability to reason. He reasoned that both statements couldn't be true. She reasoned that something must be wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
For reasons still unclear, although Macy is referred to in the court filing, he was not charged. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "How Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy Became Involved the College Admissions Scandal," 13 Mar. 2019 These numbers emphatically show that, even if for reasons not perfectly understood, more schooling, especially in the service of four-year degrees, strongly equates to higher overall career earnings. — Chuck Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The State of American Trade Schools," 13 Mar. 2019 For business reasons, however, the lawyer later reportedly declined to take on Johnson's case. — Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Trump Accuser Alva Johnson Speaks About Being Believed, Standing Her Ground, and Her Lawsuit," 11 Mar. 2019 This Is Us actress decided to switch up her hair for two reasons. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Mandy Moore Shares the Emotional Reason Behind Her New Haircut," 8 Mar. 2019 According to royal reporter Rebecca English, reporters couldn't reveal the trip was happening in advance for security reasons. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Kate Middleton Wore Some of Her Most Beloved Clothing Items In Northern Ireland," 27 Feb. 2019 But the idea that a carbon tax is a painless, efficient way to reduce hydrocarbons fails for three reasons. — Mark P. Mills, WSJ, "Have We Got a Carbon Tax ‘Dividend’ for You," 8 Jan. 2019 Additionally, Shinichiro Watanabe will oversee the project as creative producer, and that name will likely stand out for three reasons. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Adult Swim, Crunchyroll announce first-ever co-production: A Blade Runner anime," 29 Nov. 2018 Endometriosis is another potential reason behind huge period clots. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Here’s When to See a Doctor About Period Clots," 1 Mar. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Jack once again tries to reason with Nicky, who’s been self-medicating to make it through the days in Vietnam. — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Is Us Just Dropped Two Massive Bombshells," 28 Nov. 2018 After three days, Janet, Hank’s wife, enters the lab and tries to reason with him. — refinery29.com, "Ant-Man & The Wasp Have A Disturbing Incident Of Domestic Abuse In Their Past," 5 July 2018 For hours, police tried to reason with her, and would also use a robot, tear gas — none of which worked. — Eric Adler And Glenn E. Rice, kansascity, "‘KCPD murdered my only daughter,’ says mother of woman who wielded decorative sword," 15 June 2018 The other man tries to reason with the crowd, but eventually gives up, dropping to the ground and curling up to protect himself as much as possible. — Washington Post, "Rumors spread on social media fuel deadly India mob attacks," 14 June 2018 Meanwhile, Leonard goes to Raj and tries to reason with him. — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, "'The Big Bang Theory' Season 11, Episode 21 Recap: I Can’t Believe How Raj Treated Penny," 19 Apr. 2018 Manal tries to reason with her husband, as does Tony’s wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek), who is pregnant with their first child. — A.o. Scott, New York Times, "Review: In ‘The Insult,’ the Dispute Is Personal. And Political.," 10 Jan. 2018 But during this time, the Greek physician Hippocrates reasoned that diseases had natural rather than supernatural causes. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The Complete History of the Autopsy," 26 Dec. 2018 The Italian scientists reasoned that maybe the science of complex networks can help. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Complex networks study ranks the most influential films of all time," 3 Dec. 2018These 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.
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Last Updated
20 Mar 2019
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Time Traveler for reason
The first known use of reason was in the 13th century
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More Definitions for reason
reason
noun
English Language Learners Definition of reason
(Entry 1 of 2)
reason
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of reason (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for reason in the English Language Learners Dictionary
reason
noun
\
Kids Definition of reason
(Entry 1 of 2)
reason
verbKids Definition of reason (Entry 2 of 2)
reason
nounLegal Definition of reason
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