What does "ratiocination" mean?
Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning.
Ratiocination
/ɹætɪˌɒsɪˈneɪʃn̩/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning.
- Grammar: ratiocination is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: abstract thought, act of thought, brainwork, cerebration.
- Usage evidence: Holmes used brain fatiguing processes of ratiocination.
How to use "ratiocination"
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Source and review context
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning. uncountable, usually
"But it will be apparent from the refutation of the ſecond Falſification, wherewith you charge the Author of the Letters, that theſe miſchievous conſequences are rightly drawn from the wicked principle layd down by Vaſquez [Gabriel Vásquez] in the ſame place, and accordingly, that that Jeſuit hath not done violence to the rules of ratiocination, but to thoſe of the Goſpel."
- 2 logical and methodical reasoning wordnet
- 3 Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational. uncountable, usually
"Finally Tao comes to possess the meaning of “rational speech” or “word,” and in this sense it closely resembles the Greek Logos, for in addition to its philosophical significance the term Tao touches a religious chord in the souls of the Chinese just as did the word Logos among the Platonists and the Greek Christians. […] The Tao of man, jan tao [footnote: 人道], is the process of ratiocination, and as such it is fallible; but there is an Eternal Reason, ch‘ang tao [footnote: 常道], also called t‘ien tao [footnote: 天道], “Heaven’s Reason,” i.e., the world-order which shapes all things, and the burden of Lao-tze’s message is to let this Heaven’s Reason or Eternal Reason prevail."
- 4 the proposition arrived at by logical reasoning (such as the proposition that must follow from the major and minor premises of a syllogism) wordnet
- 5 A proposition arrived at by such thought. uncountable, usually
"Where the Qur’an has not been explicit, the Hadith has often supplied guidance, providing an intermediate source of knowledge between the text of the Holy Book itself and the ratiocinations of the religious lawyers, the fuqaha’, who had recourse, when all else failed, to such principles as analogical reasoning and personal judgement."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Holmes used brain fatiguing processes of ratiocination."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ratiocination"?
Common synonyms include: abstract thought, act of thought, brainwork, cerebration, cogitation, conceit.
How do you use "ratiocination" in a sentence?
Holmes used brain fatiguing processes of ratiocination.
How do you pronounce "ratiocination"?
Pronounced /ɹætɪˌɒsɪˈneɪʃn̩/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French ratiocination, from Latin ratiōcinātiō (“argumentation, reasoning, ratiocination; a syllogism”), from ratiōcinātus (“reckoned”) + -tiō (suffix forming a noun relating to some action or the result of an action). Ratiōcinātus is the perfect passive participle of ratiōcinor (“to compute, reckon; to argue, infer”), from ratiō (“reason, explanation”) (from reor (“to calculate, reckon”), possibly from Proto-Italic *rēōr, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂reh₁- (“to put in order”)) + -cinor, modelled after vāticinor (“to foretell, prophesy”), equivalent to ratiocinate + -ion.