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
Will Knight, Wired News, 19 May 2026
Their reasoning was that such a thing couldn’t happen in that neighborhood.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026
While coding has brought reasoning capabilities to a different level, Dai believes that models still can’t handle major decisions on how to make lighter cars or more efficient rockets.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Noun
Through a coding tool called Antigravity, Gemini 3.5 Flash offers frontier coding and reasoning capabilities but is faster and cheaper than the offerings of its competitors, Google says.
—Will Knight, Wired News, 19 May 2026
Their reasoning was that such a thing couldn’t happen in that neighborhood.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Verb
The company is working to improve safety and reasoning through benchmarks that guide how robots should behave in real-world scenarios.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026
While coding has brought reasoning capabilities to a different level, Dai believes that models still can’t handle major decisions on how to make lighter cars or more efficient rockets.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reasoning
Adjective
-
The first revolution demolished the neoliberal picture of human nature, in which people are the rational, self-interested maximizers of economic textbooks.—
Nick Hanauer,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2026
-
Wollstonecraft believed that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagined a social order founded on reason.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
If AlphaSpace converts even a fraction of those passive trackers into active, engaged researchers — people who might upgrade to Gold, stick around longer, open more tabs — the business logic writes itself.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
-
In 1931, by turning logic on itself, Kurt Gödel proved a pair of theorems that transformed the landscape of knowledge and truth.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Maybe a computer was a new tool for understanding poetry.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The week-long experience focuses on strength training to increase muscle mass; the importance of nutrition (especially protein); and understanding the long-term effects and impacts of weight loss medications.—
Judy Koutsky,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
In a letter to Knudsen, the Mid-North Association also directly opposed the athletic lighting plan, arguing that field lights do not belong in a residential neighborhood and would disturb community members’ lives, including by increasing traffic in the area.—
Kate Perez,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
-
Trump spent months criticizing Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for being reluctant to cut interests rates, with the Republican president arguing that lower borrowing costs would provide an economic boost.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
In a world where intelligent systems can respond to events faster than any human team, reactive leadership loses its edge.—
Rhett Power,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
The device incorporates controllable blades, on-board batteries and intelligent control systems, aimed at optimizing its operation in real conditions of operation on the high seas.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
For this reason, the tent was constructed in such a way that the crowd could see and hear the girls, but the girls could not see the crowd, a one-way mirror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Food and drink The food and beverages are reason alone to come here.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
But deriving a unified theory of volcanism will require a geologic Manhattan Project.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 May 2026
-
On Thursday, a jury found Geisy Rodriguez Brito, 33, of Royal Palm Beach, guilty of human trafficking and unlawful use of a two-way communications device but not guilty of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution or witness tampering.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This is where those pieces of history come into play, since jockeys riding notable contending horses are more likely to get TV face time.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
15 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, the city of San Diego refused to issue permits, contending the project of 139 hotel rooms and 75 apartments above ground-floor shops is not legal as proposed.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reasoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reasoning. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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