# reason

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹiː.zən/ · frequency rank #479

## Definitions
1. A cause:
2. A cause:
3. A cause:
4. A cause:
5. Rational thinking (or the capacity for it); the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.
6. Something reasonable, in accordance with thought; justice.
7. Ratio; proportion.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **resin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-resin)
- **recon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-recon)
- **region** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-region)
- **reckon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-reckon)
- **Robson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-robson)
- **Reston** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-reston)
- **Renton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-renton)
- **ronson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-ronson)
- **reasons** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-reasons)
- **reasoned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reason-vs-reasoned)
- **rayon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rayon-vs-reason)
- **radon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radon-vs-reason)
- **Reagan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reagan-vs-reason)

## Common misspellings (8)
`erason`, `raeson`, `reaosn`, `reasno`, `reasonn`, `reasson`, `resaon`, `rreason`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/reason