reason

noun rea·son \ ˈrē-zᵊn \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: reason in a Sentence

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

One possible reason for the failure of its men’s teams is that America’s professional soccer league is a cartel.

— The Economist, "For all its faults, the World Cup in Russia is worth celebrating," 9 June 2018
Candidly, the reason elderly residents are not receiving better care is the lack of strong enforcement by state and local authorities, and the lack of mandatory financial responsibility when bad homes acted negligently to cause injury or death.

— marcia heroux pounds, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Only 24 percent of S. Florida nursing homes, facilities had implemented backup power plans by deadline, records show," 9 June 2018
The actual reasons behind Qiu’s suicide are largely unknown.

— ankita chakraborty, Longreads, "A Crocodile In Paris: The Queer Classics of Qiu Miaojin," 8 June 2018
The reason speaking responsibly about suicide is so important is because of something called suicide contagion.

— mollykate cline, Teen Vogue, "How to Talk About Suicide Without Adding to Mental Health Stigma," 8 June 2018
Another surface-level reason is that Apple announced a few features that are quite similar to products Google is working on.

— dieter bohn, The Verge, "Apple and Google are heading in the same direction, but on different paths," 8 June 2018
The only reason the LAPD obtained the drones in the first place, however, was that the Seattle PD had found the machines’ use to be politically untenable: Seattleites were clearly and vocally opposed to their implementation.

— geoff manaugh, The Atlantic, "Drone Cops Take Flight in Los Angeles," 8 June 2018
One reason few departments are making use of the technology may be the amount of training and regulations involved in drone usage.

— ted slowik, Daily Southtown, "Orland Park a rare police agency using drones as state considers allowing the devices for surveillance," 8 June 2018
The most common reason for fleeing to the United States from Central America is endemic gang violence, which drove homicide rates in El Salvador and Honduras to the world’s highest levels.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "The Immigration Forces Beyond Trump’s Control," 8 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

reason Synonyms

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

Staff for the port, which oversees development on state tidelands, reasoned that the analysis would assist the agency’s board members in weighing the Fifth Avenue Landing development.

— lori weisberg, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Port financial analysis favors convention center expansion over competing hotel project," 8 June 2018
Virgin could build a launch vehicle, Pomerantz reasoned.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "With a simple and cheap rocket, Virgin Orbit aims for the extraordinary," 4 June 2018
As Schur reasoned, an all-knowing not-robot would have to be facile with language—and know how to calmly navigate questions from irate humans.

— laura bradley, HWD, "How The Good Place Built Janet, TV’s Most Scene-Stealing Not-a-Robot," 4 June 2018
The move was controversial, but Apple reasoned that people were increasingly turning to wireless headphones and the headphone jack was an outdated technology.

— don reisinger, Fortune, "Apple Might Stop Bundling a Headphone Adapter With This Year's iPhones," 30 Apr. 2018
But one of the things that the inspector general is looking into is Rod Rosenstein reasoning for recommending the firing of James Comey.

— Fox News, "Jonathan Turley: Comey is harming the FBI with tell-all," 19 Apr. 2018
If someone is on the brink of such a dangerous action, trying to reason with them isn’t a good idea and could have gotten Clay killed.

— victoria rodriguez, Seventeen, "5 Things That’ll Make You See Clay Differently in "13 Reasons Why" Season 2," 22 May 2018
Individuals working with tough, fibrous material, Frayer reasoned, could have held it between their teeth and one hand, then used an edged stone tool to saw off a small piece with the other hand.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "Was Science Wrong About Being Right?," 18 May 2018
When other heroes immediately jump to fighting their opponents, Supergirl's first instinct is to try and reason with them.

— sydney bucksbaum, The Hollywood Reporter, "DC TV Watch: 'Gotham' Reveals New Joker's Surprising Demeanor," 5 May 2018

First Known Use of reason

15th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

reason Synonyms

Synonyms

argue, assert, contend, maintain, plead;

Related Words

adduce, cite, mention;

claim, insist;

affirm, aver, avouch, avow;

advance, give, offer, propose, submit;

advise, counsel, recommend, suggest, urge;

convince, persuade;

advocate, champion, defend, enforce, espouse, support;

explain, justify, rationalize;

consider, debate, discuss;

confute, counter, disprove, rebut, refute;

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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See words that rhyme with reason Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for reason Spanish Central: Translation of reason Nglish: Translation of reason for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of reason for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reason

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reason

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reason

Definition of reason

reasoner

Examples of reason in a Sentence

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reason Synonyms

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REASON Defined for English Language Learners

reason

Definition of reason for English Language Learners

reason

Definition of reason for English Language Learners

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reason

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reason

Definition of reason for Students

Law Dictionary

reason

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