reason

Syllables: rea·son/ˈɹiːzən/

reason noun: that which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.

Noun (1)

reason (countable and uncountable, plural reasons)

That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.
- The reason this tree fell is that it had rotted.
- There is a reason why so many should be symmetrical: The selective advantage in a symmetrical complex is enjoyed by all the subunits[…]1996, Daniel Clement Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life, page 198
Synonyms:

occasion
A motive for an action or a determination.
- He made reason with his boss about taking a day off.
- The reason I robbed the bank was that I needed the money.
Synonyms:

occasion, rationale, motive
An excuse: a thought or a consideration offered in support of a determination or an opinion; that which is offered or accepted as an explanation.
- I have forgotten the reason he gave for not travelling by air. I felt sure that it was not the correct reason, and that he suffered from a heart trouble which he kept to himself.1966, Graham Greene, The Comedians, Penguin Classics, →ISBN, page 14
Synonyms:

occasion, excuse
A premise placed after its conclusion.

Synonyms:

occasion
(uncountable) Rational thinking (or the capacity for it); the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.
- Mankind should develop reason above all other virtues.
- The tremendous tragedy in which he had been involved - it was evident he was a fugitive from Weybridge - had driven him to the very verge of his reason.1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 113
(obsolete) Something reasonable, in accordance with thought; justice.
- 16th century Edmund Spenser, Lines on his Promised Pension
  I was promised, on a time, To have reason for my rhyme.
(obsolete) Ratio; proportion.
- [I]f two Quantities repreſented by the Numbers 20 and 4 be compared, by dividing the Antecedent 20 by the Conſequent 4, the Quotient is 5; but inverting the Terms, by dividing 4 by 20 the Quotient is #92;tfrac#123;4#125;#123;20#125;#61;#92;tfrac#123;1#125;#123;5#125;. By which Quotients are...1734, Isaac Barrow, “Lecture XVII. Of the Names and Diversities of the Twofold Kind of Reason or Proportion, viz. Arithmetical and Geometrical”, in John Kirkby, transl., The Usefulness of...

Verb

reason (third-person singular simple present reasons, present participle reasoning, simple past and past participle reasoned)

(intransitive) To deduce or come to a conclusion by being rational.
- "I had," said he, "come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data. […]"1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band
(intransitive) To perform a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to argue.
- Still my spirit was not broken. I indulged the anticipation of escape, and that speedily. It was impossible, I reasoned, that men could be so unjust as to detain me as a slave, when the truth of my case was known.1853, Solomon Northup, chapter III, in [David Wilson], editor, Twelve Years a Slave. […], London: Sampson Low, Son & Co.; Auburn, N.Y.: Derby and Miller, →OCLC, page 47
- “All right, Dad – I did follow you. But only because I was worried about you.”
  “Worried about me? I was worried about you! Hanging on to the roof of a speeding car! Are you nuts?”
  “It wasn’t moving when I climbed on to it,” reasoned the boy.2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN
Synonyms:

ratiocinate
(intransitive, obsolete) To converse; to compare opinions.
(ambitransitive) To arrange and present the reasons for or against; to examine or discuss by arguments; to debate or discuss.
- I reasoned the matter with my friend.
- The talk was mainly between Aleck and Murdie, the others crowding eagerly about and putting in a word as they could. Murdie was reasoning good-humoredly, Aleck replying fiercely.1901, Ralph Connor, chapter 9, in The Man from Glengarry
(rare, transitive) To support with reasons, as a request.
(transitive) To persuade by reasoning or argument.
- to reason one into a belief; to reason one out of his plan
- That she was not immediately ready, Emma did suspect to arise from the state of her nerves; she had not yet possessed the instrument long enough to touch it without emotion; she must reason herself into the power of performance; and Emma could not but pity such feelings, whatever their origin, and...1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 10, in Emma: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC
(transitive, with-down) To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons.
- to reason down a passion
(transitive, usually) To find by logical process; to explain or justify by reason or argument.
- to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon

Noun (2)

reason (plural reasons)

A wall plate.

Proper noun capitalized: Reason

Reason (plural Reasons)

A surname.

reason meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

reason in Hindi

that which causes: a cause: कारण kāraṇ, वजह vajah, सबब sabab, बाइस bāis

reason in Tamil

that which causes: a cause: காரணம் kāraṇam

reason in Urdu

that which causes: a cause: وَجَہ vaja, وَجَہْ vajah, سَبَب sabab, باعِث bā'is

More languagesFewer languages

reason in Bengali: কারণ karon
reason in Telugu: సబబు sababu, సమాధానము samādhānamu, న్యాయము nyāyamu
reason in Malayalam: കാരണം kāraṇaṁ, യുക്തി yukti
reason in Kannada: ಕಾರಣ kāraṇa
reason in Punjabi: ਕਾਰਨ, ਤਰਕ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
reason in Gujarati: કારણ kāraṇ
reason in Odia: କାରଣ
reason in Sanskrit: बुद्धि búddhi, ऊहति ūhati, अनिन्द्रिय anindriya, चित्त cittá
reason in Assamese: কাৰণ karon
reason in Nepali: कारण
reason in Pashto: سبب sabab, دليل dalil
reason in Tagalog: rason
reason in Arabic: سَبَب sabab, عَقْل ʕaql
reason in Malay: sebab, alasan
reason in Indonesian: alasan, sebab, motif, beralasan
reason in Persian: عقل 'aql
reason in Thai: เหตุผล hèet-pǒn, สาเหตุ sǎa-hèet, เหตุ hèet
reason in Vietnamese: lý do, nguyên nhân, lý trí
reason in Myanmar: ဟိတ် hit

Examples of reason in a sentence

If you don't give me a reason to go with you, I won't.
This is the reason why he proposes to offer a libation, to atone for the abuse of the day by their diversions.1806, Anonymous, Select Notes to Book XXI, in, Alexander Pope, translator, The Odyssey of Homer, volume 6 (London, F.J. du Roveray), page 37
Ralph Touchett, for reasons best known to himself, had seen fit to say that Gilbert Osmond was not a good fellow[…]1908, Henry James, chapter 10, in The Portrait of a Lady (The Novels and Tales of Henry James), New York edition, volume (please specify...
And the specific distinction between man and beast is now, strictly speaking, no longer reason (the lumen naturale of the human animal) but science[…]1970, Hannah Arendt, On Violence, →ISBN, page 62:
The [Isaac] Newton that emerges from the [unpublished] manuscripts is far from the popular image of a rational practitioner of cold and pure reason.2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:

All 40 example sentences with reason

Synonyms of reason

occasion
rationale
motive
excuse
ratiocinate
that which causes

All synonyms of reason

Forms of reason

Noun
plural	reasons
alternative form	rasen
alternative form	raisen
alternative form	raysin
alternative form	raison
Verb
third-person singular present	reasons
present participle	reasoning
past participle	reasoned
past	reasoned
Proper noun
plural	Reasons

Past tense of reason: reasoned

Plural of reason: reasons

Origin of reason

From Middle English resoun, reson, from Anglo-Norman raisun (Old French raison), from Latin ratiō, from ratus, past participle of reor (“reckon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂reh₁- (“to think”), reanalysed root of *h₂er- (“to put together”). Displaced native Middle English reden (found in compounds), from Old English rǣden (“condition, stipulation, calculation, direction”), from the same Proto-Indo-European source (compare West Frisian reden (“reason”), Dutch reden (“reason”)). Doublet of ration and ratio.

From Middle English reason, reson, resen, rasen, from Old English ræsn (“beam, rafter, ceiling, wall panel”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *raʀn (“house”), from Proto-Germanic *razną (“house, dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁erh₁- (“to rest”).

Words formed from reason

Phrases with reason

1 more phrasesFewer phrases

for some reason or other

Words that rhyme with reason

Questions about reason

What does reason mean?: Reason means that which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.
What is reason in Hindi?: Reason in Hindi is कारण (kāraṇ), वजह (vajah), सबब (sabab). See Reason meaning in Hindi.
How do you use reason in a sentence?: If you don't give me a reason to go with you, I won't.
What part of speech is reason?: Reason can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce reason?: Reason is pronounced /ˈɹiːzən/.
What is the plural of reason?: The plural of reason is reasons.

Words near reason in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: reason (page history and authors); Reason (page history and authors); reason (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); న్యాయము (Telugu) (page history and authors); ಕಾರಣ (Kannada) (page history and authors); reason (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); કારણ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); reason (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); अनिन्द्रिय (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); reason (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-reason.ogg.

Cite this entry: “reason.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reason. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.