the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination; "we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil"
a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion; "there is reason to believe he is lying"
an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon; "the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly"
a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"
think logically; "The children must learn to reason"
decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house"
a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable"
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"
serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again"
grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class"
ask for permission to be released from an engagement
accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands"
cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; "The ads induced me to buy a VCR"; "My children finally got me to buy a computer"; "My wife made me buy a new sofa"
cause to arise; "induce a crisis"
cause to occur rapidly; "the infection precipitated a high fever and allergic reactions"
produce electric current by electrostatic or magnetic processes
a successful attempt at scoring; "the winning goal came with less than a minute left to play"
game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; "the ends justify the means"
a show of military force or preparedness; "he confused the enemy with feints and demonstrations"
a public display of group feelings (usually of a political nature); "there were violent demonstrations against the war"
proof by a process of argument or a series of proposition proving an asserted conclusion
a visual presentation showing how something works; "the lecture was accompanied by dramatic demonstrations"; "the lecturer shot off a pistol as a demonstration of the startle response"
an occurrence that causes special pleasure or delight
provide treatment for; "The doctor treated my broken leg"; "The nurses cared for the bomb victims"; "The patient must be treated right away or she will die"; "Treat the infection with antibiotics"
regard or consider in a specific way; "I treated his advances as a joke"
engage in negotiations in order to reach an agreement; "they had to treat with the King"
provide with a gift or entertainment; "Grandmother always treated us to the circus"; "I like to treat myself to a day at a spa when I am depressed"
interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him with caution, please"; "Handle the press reporters gently"