reasoning

[ ree-zuh-ning, reez-ning ]

noun

1. the act or process of a person who reasons.
2. the process of forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises.
3. the reasons, arguments, proofs, etc., resulting from this process.

reasoning

/ ˈriːzənɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of drawing conclusions from facts, evidence, etc
2. the arguments, proofs, etc, so adduced

Other Words From

• reason·ing·ly adverb
• half-reason·ing adjective
• non·reason·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reasoning¹

First recorded in 1325–75, reasoning is from the Middle English word resoninge. See reason, -ing ²

Example Sentences

As the traditional ways of life are lost, the reasoning goes, people exchange walking for driving, balanced diets for ultraprocessed food, and old rural communities for life in cities.

From Science Magazine

The tasks included determining the logical order of two statements, or answering questions involving physical reasoning, such as how to separate an egg white from a yolk or how to make a cup of tea.

From Science Daily

In April 2023, he told the BBC that his reasoning for doing so was that "if the whole ship sinks, then nobody's got a job".

From BBC

His current energy supplier, Octopus Energy, told him the problem was down to signal issues in the area and may be because he lived “far up north” - reasoning that left him feeling deeply unimpressed.

From BBC

By the time referee Angus Gardner blew the final whistle, that reasoning, for many, had been exploded.

From BBC

Related Words

• acumen
• analysis
• argument
• hypothesis
• inference
• interpretation
• premise
• proposition
• rationale
• thinking