Dictionary entry details
• REASON (noun)
Meaning:
A rational motive for a belief or action
Classified under:
Nouns denoting goals
Synonyms:
reason; ground
Context examples:
the reason that war was declared / the grounds for their declaration
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
rational motive (a motive that can be defended by reasoning or logical argument)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reason"):
occasion (reason)
account; score (grounds)
wherefore; why (the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase 'the whys and wherefores')
Meaning:
An explanation of the cause of some phenomenon
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Context example:
the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
account; explanation (a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.)
Meaning:
The capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
intellect; reason; understanding
Context example:
we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
faculty; mental faculty; module (one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind)
Meaning:
The state of having good sense and sound judgment
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
rationality; reasonableness; reason
Context examples:
his rationality may have been impaired / he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
saneness; sanity (normal or sound powers of mind)
Meaning:
A justification for something existing or happening
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
cause; grounds; reason
Context examples:
he had no cause to complain / they had good reason to rejoice
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
justification (a statement in explanation of some action or belief)
Meaning:
A fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Context example:
there is reason to believe he is lying
Hypernyms ("reason" is a kind of...):
fact (a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reason"):
indication ((medicine) a reason to prescribe a drug or perform a procedure)
contraindication ((medicine) a reason that makes it inadvisable to prescribe a particular drug or employ a particular procedure or treatment)
• REASON (verb)
Meaning:
Decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
reason out; reason; conclude
Context example:
We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house
Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):
cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):
extrapolate; generalise; generalize; infer (draw from specific cases for more general cases)
gather (conclude from evidence)
deduce; infer (conclude by reasoning; in logic)
feel; find (come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds)
syllogise; syllogize (reason by syllogisms)
deduce; deduct; derive; infer (reason by deduction; establish by deduction)
induce (reason or establish by induction)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sentence example:
They reason that there was a traffic accident
Meaning:
Present reasons and arguments
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
argue; reason
Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):
lay out; present; represent (bring forward and present to the mind)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):
re-argue (argue again)
expostulate (reason with (somebody) for the purpose of dissuasion)
defend; fend for; support (argue or speak in defense of)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sentence examples:
Sam and Sue reason
Sam wants to reason with Sue
Meaning:
Think logically
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Context example:
The children must learn to reason
Hypernyms (to "reason" is one way to...):
cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reason"):
speculate (talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion)
categorise; categorize (place into or assign to a category)
calculate; cipher; compute; cypher; figure; reckon; work out (make a mathematical calculation or computation)
ratiocinate (reason methodologically and logically)
theorize (construct a theory about)
theorize (form or construct theories)
rationalise away; rationalize away (substitute a natural for a supernatural explanation of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
