[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/reasoning.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / reasoning

[← R](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/R/)

# reasoning

«reasoning» in Mova's school dictionary: **thinking step by step to find out why something is true…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (reasoning); verb form (-ing form of reason)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Reasoning is thinking step by step to find out why something is true or to solve a problem. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#m1)

2) Your reasoning is the reasons you give for an answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#m2)

3) Reasoning is also the -ing form of reason: «He was reasoning with his sister» (trying to make her see sense). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: the way a problem is solved; asked for in «explain your reasoning», «show your reasoning»; mathematical reasoning and proof. In science: reasoning from evidence to a conclusion. In everyday life: making good choices by thinking them through. In stories: detectives use reasoning to solve crimes.

### examples

- Explain your reasoning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x1)
- Show your reasoning in two steps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x2)
- Her reasoning was right but she added wrong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x3)
- Use reasoning to find the missing number. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x4)
- The detective's reasoning led him to the thief. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x5)
- Scientists use reasoning to explain their results. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x6)
- Good reasoning helps you spot tricks and fake news. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x7)
- Dad tried reasoning with the toddler, but she kept crying. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x8)
- The unjust will not listen to the reasoning of the innocent. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/#x9)

### note

A word about the solving, not about the quantities; carries no clue to the operation. Trap: none in counting. Good reasoning checks each step and the answer. Uncountable: «good reasoning», not «a reasoning».

### In the corpora

- [Pilots learn real skills in simulators, and you learn real language and reasoning in your lessons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/28-who-you-are-honest-ai/16/)
- [Toad's reasoning: «They must both be coming from somewhere, and going to somewhere.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/61-willows-ch10-part1-the-barge-woman/19/)
- [Inference is reasoning from clues, not wild guessing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/17/)
- [A principle is a general rule used in reasoning, such as "do not harm the innocent".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/15/)
- [Some answers came first from pure reasoning: Neptune was found in 1846 exactly where maths said a hidden planet must be pulling Uranus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «reasoning» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasoning/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.