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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

reason.

A cause:

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɹiːzən/[ˈɹʷɪi̯zən] ~ [ˈɹʷɪi̯zn̩]
  1. A cause: That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.

    countable · uncountable
    The reason this tree fell is that it had rotted.
  2. A cause: A motive for an action or a determination.

    countable · uncountable
    He made reason with his boss about taking a day off.
    The reason I robbed the bank was that I needed the money.
  3. A cause: 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.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A cause: A premise placed after its conclusion.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Rational thinking (or the capacity for it); the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.

    uncountable
    Mankind should develop reason above all other virtues.
  6. Something reasonable, in accordance with thought; justice.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  7. Ratio; proportion.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/ˈɹiːzən/[ˈɹʷɪi̯zən] ~ [ˈɹʷɪi̯zn̩]
  1. To deduce or come to a conclusion by being rational.

    intransitive
  2. To perform a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to argue.

    intransitive
  3. To converse; to compare opinions.

    intransitive · obsolete
  4. To arrange and present the reasons for or against; to examine or discuss by arguments; to debate or discuss.

    ambitransitive
    I reasoned the matter with my friend.
  5. To support with reasons, as a request.

    rare · transitive
  6. To persuade by reasoning or argument.

    transitive
    to reason one into a belief; to reason one out of his plan
  7. To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons.

    transitive · with-down
    to reason down a passion
  8. To find by logical process; to explain or justify by reason or argument.

    transitive · usually
    to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈɹiːzən/[ˈɹʷɪi̯zən] ~ [ˈɹʷɪi̯zn̩]
  1. A wall plate.

Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.