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
Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Kieffer explained the reasoning.
—Eleanor Nash
may 14, Kansas City Star, 14 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
System 2 provides robot-level reasoning, translating high-level instructions into structured sub-tasks using multimodal perception.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Kieffer explained the reasoning.
—Eleanor Nash
may 14, Kansas City Star, 14 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
-
On the surface, this looks rational.—
Illia Smoliienko,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
In the face of what all agree is a housing crisis, Onni’s residential plan will have to wait at least a decade for a more rational City Council.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
As fake dating logic dictates, proximity (and, blessedly, only one bed) leads to very real feelings.—
Erin La Rosa,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
-
There’s sort of a Möbius strip of logic there.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Since Ganymede likely hides a vast ocean beneath its ice shell, understanding how its magnetic field survives could offer clues about potentially habitable environments elsewhere in the solar system.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
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Because your husband is having trouble understanding that being alone in the house for extended periods isn’t good for your mental health (or physical health for that matter), perhaps your doctor can explain it to him.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
In recent years, a few prominent detransitioners, including Chloe Cole and Prisha Mosley, have advocated for restrictions on transition care for minors, arguing in lawsuits against doctors who treated them that their care was too easy to access and that doctors failed them.—
Jo Yurcaba,
NBC news,
16 May 2026
-
James Ward During the debate, Republican candidate Steve Hilton said that only a small percentage of California has been developed for housing, arguing that the state should focus on building homes on undeveloped land rather than increasing density in existing cities.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The next is making the grid intelligent enough to absorb that power at scale—flexible, predictive, and reliable.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
-
An immersive, intelligent debut.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
10 May 2026
Noun
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While Miller and his colleagues note in their study that past efforts to convince gun-owning households with kids to safely store their firearms haven't succeeded, Sathya sees reasons to be optimistic in his own health system.—
Rhitu Chatterjee,
NPR,
12 May 2026
-
This is one reason why a partner of someone with avoidant attachment may perceive their partner as emotionally unavailable, overly self-sufficient, detached or distant or resistant to commitment.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
12 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
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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 18 May. 2026.
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