reason

n 1: a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that

war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"

[syn: {ground}]

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" [syn:

{understanding}, {intellect}]

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},

{reasonableness}]

5: a justification for something existing or happening; "he had

no cause to complain"; "they had good reason to rejoice"

[syn: {cause}, {grounds}]

6: a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion;

"there is reason to believe he is lying"

v 1: decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We

reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a

house" [syn: {reason out}, {conclude}]

2: present reasons and arguments [syn: {argue}]

3: think logically