Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. For that reason or cause; consequently or hence.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- For that; for this; for it; therefor.
- In return or recompense for this or for that.
- For that purpose or cause.
- For this or for that reason; on that account: referring to something previously stated; consequently; by consequence.
- Synonyms Therefore, Wherefore, Accordingly, Consequently, Then, So. All these words draw a conclusion or infer a consequence from what immediately precedes; they are all affected by their derivation or original meaning. Therefore, for this or that reason, on that account; wherefore, for which reason, on which account. Therefore is the most formal of the words, and is consequently most used in mathematics, logic, and elaborate argument. The use of wherefore for therefore is not to be commended, as it is considered a Latinism to use a relative pronoun or its derivative for a demonstrative or its derivative in carrying on a thought; the development of this principle is modern, and gives to the demonstrative use of wherefore a tone of quaintness. Accordingly and consequently are more common in essay and narrative writing; then and so in conversation, where brevity is most studied. The last four are more used to indicate practical sequences.
Wiktionary
- adv. conjunctive For that or this purpose, referring to something previously stated.
- adv. conjunctive Consequently, by or in consequence of that or this cause; referring to something previously stated.
GNU Webster's 1913
- For that or this reason, referring to something previously stated; for that.
- Consequently; by consequence.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. as a consequence
- adv. (used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
Etymologies
- From Old English pronominal adverb therfore; see there, fore, and for. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English : there, there; see there + for, fore, fore; see for. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“_Hence, therefore, why_, etc., used in making an inference or in expressing cause -- as, It is dark, _hence_, or _therefore_, the sun is down; _Why_ is it dark?”
Higher Lessons in English A work on english grammar and composition
“The term therefore refers to symbolic or cultural activities which do not contribute to capitalist production and accumulation and which potentially constitute a "radical negation" of productivist society.”
“Wrapped up in the term therefore is the idea of a "biodiversity crisis".”
“[2662] The title therefore does give proof of a certain authority of oversight or of action.”
“The title therefore is not unlike that of Royal or Imperial Highness in modern monarchies.”
“The term therefore implies that the third world is exploited, much as third estate French commoners were exploited. • the economically underdeveloped countries of Africa,”
“It is not pleonastic to speak of radioactive iodine because I (127), the naturally occurring isotope, is not radioactive; the term therefore refers to any of the other 23 isotopes known at present, all of which are radioactive.”
“All his children died infants; and the title therefore expired”
Internet Archive: Collins's peerage of England; genealogical, biographical, and historical
“The title therefore was imaginary, and the committee would recolleft, that in thofe old charters, the word burgeffesvizs not neceffarily a term of incorporation; but that it as frequently meant the tenants of burgage - pofleffions, according to the opinion of Lord Holt.”
Internet Archive: Reports of the proceedings before select committees of the House of commons
“This therefore is an open promise to hold a referendum come what may.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘therefore’.
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RELI - Genesis
Protagonists and relevant words in the Book of Creation (Source: King James Bible)
Laban, circumcise, beget, Esau, Rebekah, speckle, Sodom, Pharaoh, Canaanite, Canaan, Jacob, Lot and 1286 more...
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EN - Glasgow stop list
Words to be replaced by a paragraph mark if you are after terms and MWEs.
about, above, across, after, afterwards, again, against, all, almost, alone, along, already and 291 more...
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EU Buzz - Lisbon Treaty
All words of the Lisbon Treaty
(Persons' names, foreign and grammatical words have been eliminated, MWEs have been split up into individual words. Capitalization has been retained if r...health, follow, condition, meeting, minister, beginning, chapter, information, language, remain, covered, respect and 2614 more...
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Transitional and otherwise
then, consequently, thus, hence, so, ergo, wherefore, henceforward, to that end, to this end, accordingly, as a result and 34 more...
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Result
hence, therefore, accordingly, consequently, thus, thereupon, as a result, in consequence, subsequently, after all, all things consid..., briefly and 22 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Loxodont's list
circumambulate, atelectasis, paramount, therefore, apotropaic, facture, identity, dome, lecture, cannibal, catatonia, rite and 119 more...
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Words of the Day
glabella, chirotony, nook-shotten, crapehanger, filemot, swirlie, egosurf, lexiphanicism, Ruritanian, stichometry, chrononaut, faldstool and 1984 more...
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
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mlm8816's list
Words I can't live without!
tump, antiquated, chagrin, incredulous, reciprocity, ambulate, love, fierce, comma, allegedly, beloved, kiss and 25 more...
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Connectors & Transitions
Here's a lit of common expressions to make sure you show organization when elaborating on your ideas properly
although, on the other hand, to illustrate, for instance, due to the fact that, because, because of, since, due to, thus, therefore
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Conjunctive Adverbs
heretofore, notwithstanding, therefore, hereinafter, inasmuch, insofar, whomsoever, nonetheless, withal, thereupon, hitherto, whereas and 48 more...
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There There
Oh, prepositional adverbs (and bizarre Russian musical instruments)! How I love you.
therein, thereby, thereupon, thereto, theretoward, therethrough, thereabout, thereafter, thereof, therefore, thereinafter, thereinbefore and 11 more...
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Our Kevin
Words used by Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia. Invented by the man, uttered incessantly, or both.
passthrough, brekkers, maximalist, therefore, working families, decisive, action, stability, nation building, global financial ..., buffer, tough times and 16 more...
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LIT - the 100 most common words of th...
Based on a frequency analysis
ages, already, away, become, bourgeois, bourgeoisie, capital, carried, character, class, commerce, commodity and 88 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for therefore.

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