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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of reasoning
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
The other no vote came from Linda Duncan, who did not disclose her reasoning.
—Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
But the university's reasoning was not clear, as UC did not respond to The Enquirer's request for comment Tuesday.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Perez said the next challenge for Meta is to make AI reasoning models that can contend with products like DeepSeek’s R1, Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, and OpenAI’s o1 series.
—Nino Paoli, Fortune, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Noun
As is typical for rulings on the high court's emergency docket, the justices did not elaborate on the full legal reasoning behind the decision.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
The other no vote came from Linda Duncan, who did not disclose her reasoning.
—Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
But the university's reasoning was not clear, as UC did not respond to The Enquirer's request for comment Tuesday.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Perez said the next challenge for Meta is to make AI reasoning models that can contend with products like DeepSeek’s R1, Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, and OpenAI’s o1 series.
—Nino Paoli, Fortune, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reasoning
Adjective
-
Eventually, this bargain approach is vindicated by returns as rational pricing returns to markets.—
James Berman,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
No rational business is going to make long-term investments in American manufacturing based on such transient policies.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
Mechanistic interpretability helps reveal the underlying computational logic that neural networks employ to generate results.—
Rishabh Sambare,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
The great flaw in that theory is the supposition of logic in humans.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
11 July 2025
Verb
-
However, some Democrats, including Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, suggested the backlash was overblown, arguing that public opinion is shifting in favor of restrictions on transgender athletes.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
The president justified his decision by arguing that all three of the nations were not doing enough to curb the influx of drugs, specifically fentanyl, coming into the United States.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Operation Bounce House follows Oliver Lewis, a colonist on the planet New Sonora, who leads a simple life on his family ranch, playing with his band and tending to his family's selection of intelligent agriculture bots.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
14 July 2025
-
Although not specifically marketed as a pet camera, the Eufy E220 is a budget-friendly indoor home security camera packed with typically more high-end features, including remote pan and tilt, sharp 2K video footage, automatic motion tracking, and intelligent motion and sound detection.—
Cierra Cowan July 11,
PC Magazine,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
One of London’s favorite summer vacation destinations, now there’s even more reasons to visit Bodrum.—
Angela Lei,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
-
But rose water nails are currently enjoying a revival and flooding our FYPs for a couple of very good reasons.—
Fiona Embleton,
Glamour,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
The path is similar this time around, and Tampa Bay is coming off a resounding 40-17 victory over the playoff-contending Los Angeles Chargers.—
Associated Pess,
Orlando Sentinel,
22 Dec. 2024
-
Against this backdrop, the remainder of López's contract could be appealing to a contending team.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Nibert loved the free-thinking spirit of the village and its college.—
Keith BieryGolick,
Cincinnati.com,
28 Aug. 2019
-
Credit Gus Malzahn for being proactive and thinking long-term in choosing his starting quarterback.—
Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com,
al,
22 Aug. 2019
Verb
-
With so many cruise lines and many more ships, deciding which cruise to book for your family’s next vacation can feel daunting.—
Stacey Lastoe,
Southern Living,
11 Mar. 2025
-
There are several considerations when deciding where to live and retire.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reasoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reasoning. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share