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
Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
The stats are important — but the reasoning is far more so.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2026
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
At first, decision re-litigation decreases, because the capability preserves reasoning.
—Awaneesh Verma, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Noun
Then there is the question of the current leadership’s reasoning for beginning this conflict.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
The stats are important — but the reasoning is far more so.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2026
Verb
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the conviction, reasoning that while Abernethy broke NCAA rules, his conduct didn’t constitute a crime.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
At first, decision re-litigation decreases, because the capability preserves reasoning.
—Awaneesh Verma, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reasoning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reasoning
Adjective
-
The business side of football will feel perfectly rational.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Austen would have advocated for a more rational and supportive understanding of women’s bodies in health and illness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The logic was also catastrophic Political scientists have long observed that countries are held together not by ideology but by organized coercion.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
-
In retrospect, the logic may be clear.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This phase diagram, a chart showing how a material behaves as variables such as doping or temperature change, is crucial for understanding how superconductivity emerges.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
-
However, empowerment also means understanding how scammers operate in the real world.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Staci Visser, an attorney for Robinson, told the judge before the ruling that the defense is not arguing in the court of public opinion.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Every Democrat in the Colorado General Assembly — both in the state senate and the state house — signed a letter to the governor arguing that sentence forgiveness should be reserved for people who take responsibility for their actions.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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An early version of the show was first staged in Seoul in 2015, seven years before the rollout of ChatGPT and the ensuing AI doomsday alarm that platform sparked about the rise of hyper-intelligent robots.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The Manta Ray, which is known to be highly intelligent and the largest ray in the ocean, topped a popular vote two years ago to become Florida State College at Jacksonville's new mascot.—
Beth Reese Cravey,
Florida Times-Union,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The reasons for this are manifold, but include the fact that the Academy’s directors’ branch, which decides on the nominations, is still predominantly male, and has historically overlooked the work of women.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Mansfield Summit Coach Emund Pritchett said the program lost 7 players from last year’s team for various reasons, but some could’ve been back.—
Cody Thorn,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The very legitimacy of deriving general principles from the particulars of experience can never be established from experience without already having the principle in hand.—
Christopher Beha,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Large language models represent the first technology capable of analyzing, contextualizing and deriving insights from this avalanche of information.—
Sahar Hashmi,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But unlike many of their other losses to playoff-contending teams, the Lakers answered Denver’s run.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
On a Stanley Cup-contending team, he’s best served as a third-line driver.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reasoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reasoning. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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