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Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.
reason noun 1 a justification or motive for an action, belief, etc. 2 an underlying explanation or cause. 3 the power of the mind to think, form opinions and judgements, reach logical conclusions, etc. 4 sanity; sound mind • lose your reason. verb (reasoned, reasoning) intrans to use one's mind to form opinions and judgements, reach logical conclusions, deduce, etc. by reason of something because of it; as a consequence of it. for reasons best known to oneself for reasons which do not seem obvious or sensible to others. it stands to reason it is obvious or logical. listen to reason to be persuaded to act in a reasonable or sensible way. within reason in moderation; within the limits of what is sensible or possible.
ETYMOLOGY: 13c: from French reisun, from Latin ratio reckoning, from reri, ratus to think.
reason someone into or out of something to persuade or influence them with argument. reason something out to think it through or set it out logically. reason with someone to try to persuade them by means of reasonable or sensible argument. |
reason Expressions like the reason ..., the reason why ..., one reason (why) ..., etc, are followed by that or because. Some more prescriptively minded people prefer that; but because is at least as common • The reason why the victim bought a stolen car was because he thought the accused was authorised to sell it • The reason they do that is of course that they would like you to keep coming back. |
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The Chambers Dictionary (13th edition)
“Chambers is the one I keep at my right hand”- Philip Pullman.
The unrivalled dictionary for word lovers, now in its 13th edition.
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The Chambers Thesaurus
The Chambers Thesaurus (4th Edition) is a veritable treasure-trove, including the greatest selection of alternative words and phrases available in an A to Z format. -
Chambers Biographical Dictionary
“Simply all you need to know about anyone” – Fay Weldon.
Thoroughly revised and updated for its 9th edition.
Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.
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