Nearby Words
Synonyms
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noun
1.
a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war.
2.
a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.
3.
the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.
4.
sound judgment; good sense.
5.
EXPANDnormal or sound powers of mind; sanity.
6.
Logic. a premise of an argument.
7.
COLLAPSEPhilosophy.
a.
the faculty or power of acquiring intellectual knowledge, either by direct understanding of first principles or by argument.
b.
the power of intelligent and dispassionate thought, or of conduct influenced by such thought.
c.
verb (used without object)
8.
to think or argue in a logical manner.
9.
to form conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises.
10.
to urge reasons which should determine belief or action.
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By reason of
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
verb (used with object)
Idioms11.
to think through logically, as a problem (often followed by out).
12.
to conclude or infer.
13.
to convince, persuade, etc., by reasoning.
14.
to support with reasons.
15.
bring (someone) to reason, to induce a change of opinion in (someone) through presentation of arguments; convince: The mother tried to bring her rebellious daughter to reason.
16.
by reason of, on account of; because of: He was consulted about the problem by reason of his long experience.
17.
in/within reason, in accord with reason; justifiable; proper: She tried to keep her demands in reason.
18.
stand to reason, to be clear, obvious, or logical: With such an upbringing it stands to reason that the child will be spoiled.
19.
with reason, with justification; properly: The government is concerned about the latest crisis, and with reason.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English resoun, reisun (noun) < Old French reisun, reson < Latin ratiōn- (stem of ratiō) ratio
1175–1225; Middle English resoun, reisun (noun) < Old French reisun, reson < Latin ratiōn- (stem of ratiō) ratio
Related forms
rea·son·er, noun
non·rea·son, noun
non·rea·son·er, noun
out·rea·son, verb (used with object)
sub·rea·son, noun
Synonyms
1. purpose, end, aim, object, objective. Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim's display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber's extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family. 2. excuse, rationalization. 3. understanding, intellect, mind, intelligence. 10. persuade.
1. purpose, end, aim, object, objective. Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim's display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber's extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family. 2. excuse, rationalization. 3. understanding, intellect, mind, intelligence. 10. persuade.
Usage note
The construction reason is because is criticized in a number of usage guides: The reason for the long delays was because the costs greatly exceeded the original estimates. One objection to this construction is based on its redundancy: the word because (literally, by cause) contains within it the meaning of reason; thus saying the reason is because is like saying “The cause is by cause,” which would never be said. A second objection is based on the claim that because can introduce only adverbial clauses and that reason is requires completion by a noun clause. EXPANDCritics would substitute that for because in the offending construction: The reason for the long delays in completing the project was that the costs. … Although the objections described here are frequently raised, reason is because is still common in almost all levels of speech and occurs often in edited writing as well
A similar charge of redundancy is made against the reason why, which is also a well-established idiom: The reason why the bill failed to pass was the defection of three key senators.
COLLAPSE
The construction reason is because is criticized in a number of usage guides: The reason for the long delays was because the costs greatly exceeded the original estimates. One objection to this construction is based on its redundancy: the word because (literally, by cause) contains within it the meaning of reason; thus saying the reason is because is like saying “The cause is by cause,” which would never be said. A second objection is based on the claim that because can introduce only adverbial clauses and that reason is requires completion by a noun clause. EXPANDCritics would substitute that for because in the offending construction: The reason for the long delays in completing the project was that the costs. … Although the objections described here are frequently raised, reason is because is still common in almost all levels of speech and occurs often in edited writing as well
A similar charge of redundancy is made against the reason why, which is also a well-established idiom: The reason why the bill failed to pass was the defection of three key senators.
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
reason
early 13c., "statement in an argument," also "intellectual faculty that adopts actions to ends," from Anglo-Fr. resoun, O.Fr. raison, from L. rationem (nom. ratio) "reckoning, understanding, motive, cause," from ratus, pp. of reri "to reckon, think," from PIE base *rei- "to reason, count" (cf. O.E.
EXPAND rædan "to advise; see read). Meaning "sanity" is recorded from, late 14c. The verb (c.1300) is from O.Fr. raisoner, from L.L. rationare "to discourse." Originally "to question (someone)," sense of "employ reasoning (with someone)" is from 1847, and that of "to think in a logical manner" is from 1590s. Phrase it stands to reason is from 1630s. Age of Reason "the Enlightenment" is first recorded 1794, as the title of Tom Paine's book.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
by reason of
Because of, owing to, as in By reason of a crop failure, the price of coffee is bound to rise. This expression is considered quite formal today. [c. 1300]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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