reason
/ˈɹiːzən/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.32 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Rational thinking (or the capacity for it); the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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[…]"
- "He made reason with his boss about taking a day off."
- "The reason I robbed the bank was that I needed the money."
- "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."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
reasons (plural)
reasons (present, singular)
reasoning (participle, present)
reasoned (participle, past)
reasoned (past)
rasen (alternative)
raisen (alternative)
raysin (alternative)
raison (alternative)