n]
| 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. | normal or sound powers of mind; sanity. |
| 6. | Logic. a premise of an argument. |
| 7. | Philosophy.
|
| 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. |
| 11. | to think through logically, as a problem (often fol. 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 or 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. |
rea·son (rē'zən) n.
v. intr.
[Middle English, from Old French raison, from Latin ratiō, ratiōn-, from ratus, past participle of rērī, to consider, think; see ar- in Indo-European roots.] rea'son·er n. Synonyms: These nouns refer to the intellectual faculty by which humans seek or attain knowledge or truth. Reason is the power to think rationally and logically and to draw inferences: "Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its [the Christian religion's] veracity" (David Hume). |
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]