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.
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.
Kantianism. the faculty by which the ideas of pure reason are created.
–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.
–verb (used with object)
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.
—Idioms
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.
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME resoun, reisun (n.) < OF reisun, reson < L ratiōn- (s. of ratiō) ratio]
—Related forms
rea·son·er, 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.
—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. Critics 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.
The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction. See Usage Notes at because, why.
A declaration made to explain or justify action, decision, or conviction: inquired about her reason for leaving.
An underlying fact or cause that provides logical sense for a premise or occurrence: There is reason to believe that the accused did not commit this crime.
The capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought; intelligence.
Good judgment; sound sense.
A normal mental state; sanity: He has lost his reason.
Logic A premise, usually the minor premise, of an argument.
v.
rea·soned, rea·son·ing, rea·sons
v.
intr.
To use the faculty of reason; think logically.
To talk or argue logically and persuasively.
Obsolete To engage in conversation or discussion.
v.
tr.
To determine or conclude by logical thinking: reasoned out a solution to the problem.
To persuade or dissuade (someone) with reasons.
[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).
Intuition is perception or comprehension, as of truths or facts, without the use of the rational process: I trust my intuitions when it comes to assessing someone's character. Understanding is the faculty by which one understands, often together with the resulting comprehension: "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding" (Louis D. Brandeis).
Judgment is the ability to assess situations or circumstances and draw sound conclusions: "At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment" (Benjamin Franklin). See Also Synonyms at cause, mind, think.
c.1225, "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. rædan "to advise; see read). Meaning "sanity" is recorded from, c.1380. 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 1593. Phrase it stands to reason is from 1632. Age of Reason "the Enlightenment" is first recorded 1794, as the title of Tom Paine's book.
a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"
2.
an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon; "the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly"
3.
the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination; "we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil"
4.
the state of having good sense and sound judgment; "his rationality may have been impaired"; "he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions" [syn: rationality]
5.
a justification for something existing or happening; "he had no cause to complain"; "they had good reason to rejoice" [syn: cause]
6.
a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion; "there is reason to believe he is lying"
verb
1.
decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house"
something which makes something happen, describes why it happened, should happen or is going to happen etc Example: What is the reason for this noise?; What is your reason for going to London?; The reason (why) I am going is that I want to.
Arabic:
سَبَب
Chinese (Simplified):
理由
Chinese (Traditional):
理由
Czech:
příčina, důvod
Danish:
årsag; grund
Dutch:
reden
Estonian:
põhjus
Finnish:
syy
French:
raison
German:
der Grund
Greek:
λόγος, αιτία
Hungarian:
ok
Icelandic:
ástæða
Indonesian:
penyebab, alasan
Italian:
ragione
Japanese:
理由
Korean:
이유
Latvian:
cēlonis; iemesls
Lithuanian:
priežastis, motyvas
Norwegian:
grunn, årsak
Polish:
powód
Portuguese (Brazil):
razão
Portuguese (Portugal):
razão
Romanian:
motiv, cauză
Russian:
причина
Slovak:
príčina, dôvod
Slovenian:
vzrok; razlog
Spanish:
razón
Swedish:
skäl, anledning, grund, orsak
Turkish:
neden, sebep
reason2[ˈriːzn]noun
the power of the mind to think, form opinions and judgements etc Example: Only man has reason — animals have not.
Arabic:
عَقْل
Chinese (Simplified):
理性
Chinese (Traditional):
理性
Czech:
rozum
Danish:
fornuft; dømmekraft
Dutch:
rede
Estonian:
mõistus
Finnish:
järki, päättelykyky
French:
raison
German:
die Vernunft
Greek:
λογική, λογικό
Hungarian:
értelem
Icelandic:
skynsemi, dómgreind
Indonesian:
akal
Italian:
ragione
Japanese:
理性
Korean:
이성
Latvian:
saprāts
Lithuanian:
protas
Norwegian:
fornuft, forstand, dømmekraft
Polish:
rozum
Portuguese (Brazil):
razão
Portuguese (Portugal):
razão
Romanian:
raţiune
Russian:
разум
Slovak:
rozum
Slovenian:
razum
Spanish:
razón
Swedish:
förstånd, förnuft
Turkish:
akıl, mantık
reason1[ˈriːzn]verb
to (be able to) think, form opinions and judgements etc Example: Man alone has the ability to reason.
Arabic:
يُفَكِّر
Chinese (Simplified):
推理
Chinese (Traditional):
推理
Czech:
myslet
Danish:
ræsonnere
Dutch:
redeneren
Estonian:
mõtlema
Finnish:
käyttää järkeään
French:
raisonner
German:
denken
Greek:
σκέφτομαι λογικά
Hungarian:
gondolkodik
Icelandic:
hugsa rökrétt, álykta
Indonesian:
mempertimbangkan
Italian:
ragionare
Japanese:
考える
Korean:
사고하다, 판단하다
Latvian:
domāt; spriest
Lithuanian:
mąstyti, protauti
Norwegian:
tenke seg til, trekke fornuftsslutninger
Polish:
rozumować
Portuguese (Brazil):
raciocinar
Portuguese (Portugal):
raciocinar
Romanian:
a raţiona
Russian:
размышлять
Slovak:
myslieť
Slovenian:
razmišljati
Spanish:
razonar, discurrir
Swedish:
göra slutledningar, resonera
Turkish:
düşün(ebil)mek
reason2[ˈriːzn]verb
to argue; to work out after some thought Example: She reasoned that if he had caught the 6.30 p.m. train, he would not be home before 8.00.
Main Entry: rea·son Function: noun 1: an underlying ground, justification, purpose, motive, or inducement <required to provide reasons for
the termination in writing> 2 a: the faculty of comprehending, inferring, or distinguishing esp. in a fair and orderly way b: the proper and sane exercise of the
mind
Ar*raign"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arraigned; p. pr. & vb. n. Arraigning.] [OE. arainen, arenen, OF. aragnier, aranier, araisnier, F. arraisonner, fr. LL. arrationare to address to call before court; L. ad + ratio reason, reasoning, LL. cause, judgment. See Reason.]1. (Law) To call or set as a prisoner at the bar of a court to answer to the matter charged in an indictment or complaint. --Blackstone. 2. To call to account, or accuse, before the bar of reason, taste, or any other tribunal. They will not arraign you for want of knowledge. --Dryden. It is not arrogance, but timidity, of which the Christian body should now be arraigned by the world. --I. Taylor. Syn: To accuse; impeach; charge; censure; criminate; indict; denounce. See Accuse.
Dar"raign\, Darrain \Dar"rain\,, v. t. [OF. deraisnier to explain, defend, to maintain in legal action by proof and reasonings, LL. derationare; de- + rationare to discourse, contend in law, fr. L. ratio reason, in LL., legal cause. Cf. Arraign, and see Reason.]1. To make ready to fight; to array. [Obs.] Darrain your battle, for they are at hand. --Shak. 2. To fight out; to contest; to decide by combat. [Obs.] "To darrain the battle." --Chaucer .
Hun"dred\, n. [OE. hundred, AS. hundred a territorial division; hund hundred + a word akin to Goth. ga-ra?jan to count, L. ratio reckoning, account; akin to OS. hunderod, hund, D. hondred, G. hundert, OHG. also hunt, Icel. hundra?, Dan. hundrede, Sw. hundra, hundrade, Goth. hund, Lith. szimtas, Russ. sto, W. cant, Ir. cead, L. centum, Gr. ?, Skr. [,c]ata. [root]309. Cf. Cent, Century, Hecatomb, Quintal, and Reason.]1. The product of ten mulitplied by ten, or the number of ten times ten; a collection or sum, consisting of ten times ten units or objects; five score. Also, a symbol representing one hundred units, as 100 or C. With many hundreds treading on his heels. --Shak. Note: The word hundred, as well as thousand, million, etc., often takes a plural form. We may say hundreds, or many hundreds, meaning individual objects or units, but with an ordinal numeral adjective in constructions like five hundreds, or eight hundreds, it is usually intended to consider each hundred as a separate aggregate; as, ten hundreds are one thousand. 2. A division of a country in England, supposed to have originally contained a hundred families, or freemen. Hundred court, a court held for all the inhabitants of a hundred. [Eng.] --Blackstone.
Mo"tive\, n. [F. motif, LL. motivum, from motivus moving, fr. L. movere, motum, to move. See Move.]1. That which moves; a mover. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object. By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or many things conjunctively. --J. Edwards. 3. (Mus.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading. [Written also motivo.] 4. (Fine Arts) That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one. Syn: Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause. Usage: Motive, Inducement, Reason. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.
Rate\, n. [OF., fr. L. rata (sc. pars), fr. ratus reckoned, fixed by calculation, p. p. of reri to reckon, to calculate. Cf. Reason.]1. Established portion or measure; fixed allowance. The one right feeble through the evil rate, Of food which in her duress she had found. --Spenser. 2. That which is established as a measure or criterion; degree; standard; rank; proportion; ratio; as, a slow rate of movement; rate of interest is the ratio of the interest to the principal, per annum. Heretofore the rate and standard of wit was different from what it is nowadays. --South. In this did his holiness and godliness appear above the rate and pitch of other men's, in that he was so . . . merciful. --Calamy. Many of the horse could not march at that rate, nor come up soon enough. --Clarendon. 3. Variation; prise fixed with relation to a standard; cost; charge; as, high or low rates of transportation. They come at dear rates from Japan. --Locke. 4. A tax or sum assessed by authority on property for public use, according to its income or value; esp., in England, a local tax; as, parish rates; town rates. 5. Order; arrangement. [Obs.] Thus sat they all around in seemly rate. --Spenser. 6. Ratification; approval. [R.] --Chapman. 7. (Horol.) The gain or loss of a timepiece in a unit of time; as, daily rate; hourly rate; etc. 8. (Naut.) (a) The order or class to which a war vessel belongs, determined according to its size, armament, etc.; as, first rate, second rate, etc. (b) The class of a merchant vessel for marine insurance, determined by its relative safety as a risk, as A1, A2, etc.
Ra"ti*o\, n. [L., fr. reri, ratus, to reckon, believe, think, judge. See Reason.]1. (Math.) The relation which one quantity or magnitude has to another of the same kind. It is expressed by the quotient of the division of the first by the second; thus, the ratio of 3 to 6 is expressed by 3/6 or 1/2; of a to b by a/b; or (less commonly) the second is made the dividend; as, a:b = b/a. Note: Some writers consider ratio as the quotient itself, making ratio equivalent to a number. The term ratio is also sometimes applied to the difference of two quantities as well as to their quotient, in which case the former is called arithmetical ratio, the latter, geometrical ratio. The name ratio is sometimes given to the rule of three in arithmetic. See under Rule. 2. Hence, fixed relation of number, quantity, or degree; rate; proportion; as, the ratio of representation in Congress. Compound ratio, Duplicate ratio, Inverse ratio, etc. See under Compound, Duplicate, etc. Ratio of a geometrical progression, the constant quantity by which each term is multiplied to produce the succeeding one.
Ra"tion*al\, a. [L. rationalis: cf. F. rationnel. See Ratio, Reason, and cf. Rationale.]1. Relating to reason; not physical; mental. Moral philosophy was his chiefest end; for the rational, the natural, and mathematics . . . were but simple pastimes in comparison of the other. --Sir T. North. 2. Having reason, or the faculty of reasoning; endowed with reason or understanding; reasoning. It is our glory and happiness to have a rational nature. --Law. 3. Agreeable to reason; not absurd, preposterous, extravagant, foolish, fanciful, or the like; wise; judicious; as, rational conduct; a rational man. 4. (Chem.) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and reactions of a compound; graphic; -- said of formul[ae]. See under Formula. Rational horizon. (Astron.) See Horizon, 2 (b) . Rational quantity (Alg.), one that can be expressed without the use of a radical sign, or in extract parts of unity; -- opposed to irrational or radical quantity. Rational symptom (Med.), one elicited by the statements of the patient himself and not as the result of a physical examination. Syn: Sane; sound; intelligent; reasonable; sensible; wise; discreet; judicious. Usage: Rational, reasonable. Rational has reference to reason as a faculty of the mind, and is opposed to traditional; as, a rational being, a rational state of mind, rational views, etc. In these cases the speculative reason is more particularly, referred to. Reasonable has reference to the exercise of this faculty for practical purposes, and means, governed or directed by reason; as, reasonable prospect of success. What higher in her society thou find'st Attractive, human, rational, love still. --Milton. A law may be reasonable in itself, although a man does not allow it, or does not know the reason of the lawgivers. --Swift.
Rea"son\, n. [OE. resoun, F. raison, fr. L. ratio (akin to Goth. rapj? number, account, garapjan to count, G. rede speech, reden to speak), fr. reri, ratus, to reckon, believe, think. Cf. Arraign, Rate, Ratio, Ration.]1. A thought or a consideration offered in support of a determination or an opinion; a just ground for a conclusion or an action; that which is offered or accepted as an explanation; the efficient cause of an occurrence or a phenomenon; a motive for an action or a determination; proof, more or less decisive, for an opinion or a conclusion; principle; efficient cause; final cause; ground of argument. I'll give him reasons for it. --Shak. The reason of the motion of the balance in a wheel watch is by the motion of the next wheel. --Sir M. Hale. This reason did the ancient fathers render, why the church was called "catholic." --Bp. Pearson. Virtue and vice are not arbitrary things; but there is a natural and eternal reason for that goodness and virtue, and against vice and wickedness. --Tillotson. 2. The faculty of capacity of the human mind by which it is distinguished from the intelligence of the inferior animals; the higher as distinguished from the lower cognitive faculties, sense, imagination, and memory, and in contrast to the feelings and desires. Reason comprises conception, judgment, reasoning, and the intuitional faculty. Specifically, it is the intuitional faculty, or the faculty of first truths, as distinguished from the understanding, which is called the discursive or ratiocinative faculty. We have no other faculties of perceiving or knowing anything divine or human, but by our five senses and our reason. --P. Browne. In common and popular discourse, reason denotes that power by which we distinguish truth from falsehood, and right from wrong, and by which we are enabled to combine means for the attainment of particular ends. --Stewart. Reason is used sometimes to express the whole of those powers which elevate man above the brutes, and constitute his rational nature, more especially, perhaps, his intellectual powers; sometimes to express the power of deduction or argumentation. --Stewart. By the pure reason I mean the power by which we become possessed of principles. --Coleridge. The sense perceives; the understanding, in its own peculiar operation, conceives; the reason, or rationalized understanding, comprehends. --Coleridge. 3. Due exercise of the reasoning faculty; accordance with, or that which is accordant with and ratified by, the mind rightly exercised; right intellectual judgment; clear and fair deductions from true principles; that which is dictated or supported by the common sense of mankind; right conduct; right; propriety; justice. I was promised, on a time, To have reason for my rhyme. --Spenser. But law in a free nation hath been ever public reason; the enacted reason of a parliament, which he denying to enact, denies to govern us by that which ought to be our law; interposing his own private reason, which to us is no law. --Milton. The most probable way of bringing France to reason would be by the making an attempt on the Spanish West Indies. --Addison. 4. (Math.) Ratio; proportion. [Obs.] --Barrow. By reason of, by means of; on account of; because of. "Spain is thin sown of people, partly by reason of the sterility of the soil." --Bacon. In reason, In all reason, in justice; with rational ground; in a right view. When anything is proved by as good arguments as a thing of that kind is capable of, we ought not, in reason, to doubt of its existence. --Tillotson. It is reason, it is reasonable; it is right. [Obs.] Yet it were great reason, that those that have children should have greatest care of future times. --Bacon. Syn: Motive; argument; ground; consideration; principle; sake; account; object; purpose; design. See Motive, Sense.
Rea"son\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reasoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Reasoning.] [Cf. F. raisonner. See Reason, n.]1. To exercise the rational faculty; to deduce inferences from premises; to perform the process of deduction or of induction; to ratiocinate; to reach conclusions by a systematic comparison of facts. 2. Hence: To carry on a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to formulate and set forth propositions and the inferences from them; to argue. Stand still, that I may reason with you, before the Lord, of all the righteous acts of the Lord. --1 Sam. xii. 7. 3. To converse; to compare opinions. --Shak.
Rea"son\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reasoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Reasoning.] [Cf. F. raisonner. See Reason, n.]1. To exercise the rational faculty; to deduce inferences from premises; to perform the process of deduction or of induction; to ratiocinate; to reach conclusions by a systematic comparison of facts. 2. Hence: To carry on a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to formulate and set forth propositions and the inferences from them; to argue. Stand still, that I may reason with you, before the Lord, of all the righteous acts of the Lord. --1 Sam. xii. 7. 3. To converse; to compare opinions. --Shak.
Rea"son\, v. t. 1. To arrange and present the reasons for or against; to examine or discuss by arguments; to debate or discuss; as, I reasoned the matter with my friend. When they are clearly discovered, well digested, and well reasoned in every part, there is beauty in such a theory. --T. Burnet. 2. To support with reasons, as a request. [R.] --Shak. 3. To persuade by reasoning or argument; as, to reason one into a belief; to reason one out of his plan. Men that will not be reasoned into their senses. --L'Estrange. 4. To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons; -- with down; as, to reason down a passion. 5. To find by logical process; to explain or justify by reason or argument; -- usually with out; as, to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon.
Rea"son*a*ble\, a. [OE. resonable, F. raisonnable, fr. L. rationabilis. See Reason, n.]1. Having the faculty of reason; endued with reason; rational; as, a reasonable being. 2. Governed by reason; being under influence of reason; thinking, speaking or acting rationally, or according to the dictates of reason; agreeable to reason; just; rational; as, the measure must satisfy all reasonable men. By indubitable certainty, I mean that which doth not admit of any reasonable cause of doubting. --Bp. Wilkins. Men have no right to what is not reasonable. --Burke. 3. Not excessive or immoderate; within due limits; proper; as, a reasonable demand, amount, price. Let . . . all things be thought upon That may, with reasonable swiftness, add More feathers to you wings. --Shak. Syn: Rational; just; honest; equitable; fair; suitable; moderate; tolerable. See Rational.
Sense\, n. [L. sensus, from sentire, sensum, to perceive, to feel, from the same root as E. send; cf. OHG. sin sense, mind, sinnan to go, to journey, G. sinnen to meditate, to think: cf. F. sens. For the change of meaning cf. See, v. t. See Send, and cf. Assent, Consent, Scent, v. t., Sentence, Sentient.]1. (Physiol.) A faculty, possessed by animals, of perceiving external objects by means of impressions made upon certain organs (sensory or sense organs) of the body, or of perceiving changes in the condition of the body; as, the senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. See Muscular sense, under Muscular, and Temperature sense, under Temperature. Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep. --Shak. What surmounts the reach Of human sense I shall delineate. --Milton. The traitor Sense recalls The soaring soul from rest. --Keble. 2. Perception by the sensory organs of the body; sensation; sensibility; feeling. In a living creature, though never so great, the sense and the affects of any one part of the body instantly make a transcursion through the whole. --Bacon. 3. Perception through the intellect; apprehension; recognition; understanding; discernment; appreciation. This Basilius, having the quick sense of a lover. --Sir P. Sidney. High disdain from sense of injured merit. --Milton. 4. Sound perception and reasoning; correct judgment; good mental capacity; understanding; also, that which is sound, true, or reasonable; rational meaning. "He speaks sense." --Shak. He raves; his words are loose As heaps of sand, and scattering wide from sense. --Dryden. 5. That which is felt or is held as a sentiment, view, or opinion; judgment; notion; opinion. I speak my private but impartial sense With freedom. --Roscommon. The municipal council of the city had ceased to speak the sense of the citizens. --Macaulay. 6. Meaning; import; signification; as, the true sense of words or phrases; the sense of a remark. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense. --Neh. viii. 8. I think 't was in another sense. --Shak. 7. Moral perception or appreciation. Some are so hardened in wickedness as to have no sense of the most friendly offices. --L' Estrange. 8. (Geom.) One of two opposite directions in which a line, surface, or volume, may be supposed to be described by the motion of a point, line, or surface. Common sense, according to Sir W. Hamilton: (a) "The complement of those cognitions or convictions which we receive from nature, which all men possess in common, and by which they test the truth of knowledge and the morality of actions." (b) "The faculty of first principles." These two are the philosophical significations. (c) "Such ordinary complement of intelligence, that,if a person be deficient therein, he is accounted mad or foolish." (d) When the substantive is emphasized: "Native practical intelligence, natural prudence, mother wit, tact in behavior, acuteness in the observation of character, in contrast to habits of acquired learning or of speculation." Moral sense. See under Moral, (a) . The inner, or internal, sense, capacity of the mind to be aware of its own states; consciousness; reflection. "This source of ideas every man has wholly in himself, and though it be not sense, as having nothing to do with external objects, yet it is very like it, and might properly enough be called internal sense." --Locke. Sense capsule (Anat.), one of the cartilaginous or bony cavities which inclose, more or less completely, the organs of smell, sight, and hearing. Sense organ (Physiol.), a specially irritable mechanism by which some one natural force or form of energy is enabled to excite sensory nerves; as the eye, ear, an end bulb or tactile corpuscle, etc. Sense organule (Anat.), one of the modified epithelial cells in or near which the fibers of the sensory nerves terminate. Syn: Understanding; reason. Usage: Sense, Understanding, Reason. Some philosophers have given a technical signification to these terms, which may here be stated. Sense is the mind's acting in the direct cognition either of material objects or of its own mental states. In the first case it is called the outer, in the second the inner, sense. Understanding is the logical faculty, i. e., the power of apprehending under general conceptions, or the power of classifying, arranging, and making deductions. Reason is the power of apprehending those first or fundamental truths or principles which are the conditions of all real and scientific knowledge, and which control the mind in all its processes of investigation and deduction. These distinctions are given, not as established, but simply because they often occur in writers of the present day.
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