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Definitions

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The mental process of passing from the cognition of premises to the cognition of the conclusion; reasoning. Most writers make ratiocination synonymous with reasoning. J. S. Mill and others hold that the word is usually limited to necessary reasoning. The Latin word is especially applied by Cicero to probable reasoning.
  2. n. A mental product and object consisting of premises and a conclusion drawn from them; inference; an argumentation.
  3. n. Synonyms Reasoning, etc. See inference.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning.
  2. n. Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational.
  3. n. A proposition arrived at by such thought.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. The process of reasoning, or deducing conclusions from premises; deductive reasoning.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. logical and methodical reasoning
  2. n. the proposition arrived at by logical reasoning (such as the proposition that must follow from the major and minor premises of a syllogism)

Etymologies

  1. From French ratiocination, from Latin ratiocinatio ("reasoning, argumentation, a syllogism"), from ratiocinatus, past participle of ratiocinari ("to reason") (Wiktionary)

Examples

  • “Argumentative as the Buddhist suttas are, their aim is strictly practical, even when their language appears scholastic, and the burden of all their ratiocination is the same and very simple.”

    Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 1

  • “There is a narrower sense, in which the name reasoning is confined to the form of inference which is termed ratiocination, and of which the syllogism is the general type.”

    A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive (Vol. 1 of 2)

  • “Up against a ticking clock, myriad plot twists and turns and a roster of red herring suspects, the hero eventually solves the mystery through logical deduction, a process known as ratiocination, not to mention a little luck.”

    WestportNow

  • “a soliddity of judgement in him, so infinite a fancy bounde in by a most logicall ratiocination, such a vast knowledge, that he was not ignorant in any thinge, yet such an excessive humillity as if he had knowne nothinge, that they frequently resorted and dwelt with him, as in a Colledge scituated in a purer ayre, so that his house was”

    Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles

  • “The squareness of it showed "ratiocination"; and the fulness under the eyes "language".”

    The Jewel of Seven Stars

  • “And it is worth attention that when Clifford is aroused to sudden action by Judge Pyncheon's death, the coruscating play of his intellect is almost precisely that brilliant but defective kind of ratiocination which Poe so delights to display.”

    A Study Of Hawthorne

  • “Judge Pyncheon's death, the coruscating play of his intellect is almost precisely that brilliant but defective kind of ratiocination which Poe so delights to display.”

    A Study of Hawthorne

  • “Employing Poe's methods of "ratiocination," Scooby and friends embark on a madcap chase through the spooky house!”

    ComicList Headlines

  • “It lays stress on the right things—the survival, one might say the reaccentuation, of the metaphysical strain, the concetti metafisici ed ideali as Testi calls them in contrast to the simpler imagery of classical poetry, of mediaeval Italian poetry; the more intellectual, less verbal, character of their wit compared with the conceits of the Elizabethans; the finer psychology of which their conceits are often the expression; their learned imagery; the argumentative, subtle evolution of their lyrics; above all the peculiar blend of passion and thought, feeling and ratiocination which is their greatest achievement.”

    Introduction. Grierson, Herbert J.C

  • “ratiocination," that is, of the ingenious thinking out of a problem, as”

    The Short-story

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synonyms (1)

Words with the same meaning

  1. reasoning

hypernyms (4)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. logical thinking
  1. reasoning
  1. abstract thought
  1. proposition

same context (7)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. wtout
  1. amitie
  1. at-bats
  1. outrageousness
  1. syllogism
  1. inscrutability
  1. poste

reverse dictionary (8)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. ratiocinative
  1. discursus
  1. skilling
  1. ergotism
  1. cognition
  1. dianoetic
  1. intuition
  1. logic

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  • pkipper Here is an example of "ratiocination" as it might appear in cases of mental illness as explored in "Tender is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    "The faces of the patients wore the expression of one who had just signed profoundly, dismissing something insoluble--but their sighs only marked the beginning of another ceaseless round of RATIOCINATION, not in a line as with normal people but in the same circle. Round, round and round. Around forever." Mar 27, 2009

  • mollusque About 10,000 to one for words of eight letters of more. Dec 1, 2008

  • vanishedone For any word under eight letters long, pretty slim. Dec 1, 2008

  • sionnach What are the odds of a word having the exciting 'atio' sequence twice? Dec 1, 2008

  • yarb "He spent ten years in Thibet organising the clarified butter industry on modern European lines, and was able to retire at thirty-six with a handsome fortune. The rest of his life he devoted to travel and ratiocination; here is the result."

    - Aldous Huxley, Crome Yellow Mar 28, 2008

  • chained_bear "He took the Naval Chronicle, and after a little while he burst in upon Stephen's ratiocination with a fine exultant cry, 'By God, Stephen, she did it! Ajax came up with the Méduse off La Hogue and beat her into mummy in thirty-five minutes...'"
    --Patrick O'Brian, The Surgeon's Mate, 361 Feb 9, 2008

  • yarb There are numerous un-Japanese things about Wordsworth, I find. Nov 26, 2007

  • plumpesdenken What is un-Japanese about Wordsworth, however - and you only need to remember a poem like The Prelude or "Tintern Abbey" to realise it - is the nimbus of introspection and ratiocination which surrounds the physical details of the scene. Seamus Heaney in The Guardian. Nov 25, 2007

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‘ratiocination’ has been looked up 4239 times, loved by 10 people, added to 71 lists, commented on 8 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.