different between reason vs action
reason
English
Etymology
From Middle English resoun, reson, from Anglo-Norman raisun (Old French raison), from Latin rati?, from ratus, past participle of reor (“reckon”). Doublet of ration and ratio.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??i?z?n/
- Rhymes: -i?z?n
- Hyphenation: rea?son
Noun
reason (countable and uncountable, plural reasons)
- A cause:
- That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.
- 1996, Daniel Clement Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life, page 198:
- There is a reason why so many should be symmetrical: The selective advantage in a symmetrical complex is enjoyed by all the subunits […]
- 1996, Daniel Clement Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life, page 198:
- A motive for an action or a determination.
- 1806, Anonymous, Select Notes to Book XXI, in, Alexander Pope, translator, The Odyssey of Homer, volume 6 (London, F.J. du Roveray), page 37:
- This is the reason why he proposes to offer a libation, to atone for the abuse of the day by their diversions.
- 1881, Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, chapter 10:
- Ralph Touchett, for reasons best known to himself, had seen fit to say that Gilbert Osmond was not a good fellow […]
- 1806, Anonymous, Select Notes to Book XXI, in, Alexander Pope, translator, The Odyssey of Homer, volume 6 (London, F.J. du Roveray), page 37:
- An excuse: a thought or a consideration offered in support of a determination or an opinion; that which is offered or accepted as an explanation.
- 1966, Graham Greene, The Comedians (Penguin Classics edition, ?ISBN, page 14:
- I have forgotten the reason he gave for not travelling by air. I felt sure that it was not the correct reason, and that he suffered from a heart trouble which he kept to himself.
- 1966, Graham Greene, The Comedians (Penguin Classics edition, ?ISBN, page 14:
- (logic) A premise placed after its conclusion.
- That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.
- (uncountable) Rational thinking (or the capacity for it); the cognitive faculties, collectively, of conception, judgment, deduction and intuition.
- 1970, Hannah Arendt, On Violence ?ISBN, page 62:
- And the specific distinction between man and beast is now, strictly speaking, no longer reason (the lumen naturale of the human animal) but science […]
- 1970, Hannah Arendt, On Violence ?ISBN, page 62:
- (obsolete) Something reasonable, in accordance with thought; justice.
- 16th century Edmund Spenser, Lines on his Promised Pension
- I was promised, on a time, To have reason for my rhyme.
- 16th century Edmund Spenser, Lines on his Promised Pension
- (mathematics, obsolete) Ratio; proportion.
- a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, The Usefulness of Mathematical Learning Explained and Demonstrated
- Geometrical Reasons
- a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, The Usefulness of Mathematical Learning Explained and Demonstrated
Synonyms
- (that which causes): cause
- (motive for an action): rationale, motive
- (thought offered in support): excuse
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
reason (third-person singular simple present reasons, present participle reasoning, simple past and past participle reasoned)
- (intransitive) To deduce or come to a conclusion by being rational
- 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- "I had," said he, "come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data. […] "
- 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- (intransitive) To perform a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to argue.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To converse; to compare opinions.
- (transitive, intransitive) To arrange and present the reasons for or against; to examine or discuss by arguments; to debate or discuss.
- I reasoned the matter with my friend.
- 1901, Ralph Connor, The Man from Glengarry Chapter 9
- The talk was mainly between Aleck and Murdie, the others crowding eagerly about and putting in a word as they could. Murdie was reasoning good-humoredly, Aleck replying fiercely.
- (transitive, rare) To support with reasons, as a request.
- (transitive) To persuade by reasoning or argument.
- to reason one into a belief; to reason one out of his plan
- 1816, Jane Austen, Emma Volume 2/Chapter 10
- That she was not immediately ready, Emma did suspect to arise from the state of her nerves; she had not yet possessed the instrument long enough to touch it without emotion; she must reason herself into the power of performance; and Emma could not but pity such feelings, whatever their origin, and could not but resolve never to expose them to her neighbour again.
- (transitive, with down) To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons.
- to reason down a passion
- (transitive, usually with out) To find by logical process; to explain or justify by reason or argument.
- to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
- reason at OneLook Dictionary Search
- reason in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- reason in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- Roanes, Serano, arseno-, senora, señora
reason From the web:
- what reasons can unemployment be denied
- what reasons would unemployment be denied
action
English
Etymology
From Middle English accion, from Old French aucion,acciun, from Latin ?cti? (“act of doing or making”), from ?ctus, perfect passive participle of ag? (“do, act”), + action suffix -i?; see act.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?æk.??n/
- Rhymes: -æk??n
- Hyphenation: ac?tion
Noun
action (countable and uncountable, plural actions)
- Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.
- A way of motion or functioning.
- Fast-paced activity.
- A mechanism; a moving part or assembly.
- (music) The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.
- (music) The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on a guitar.
- (slang) Sexual intercourse.
- (military) Combat.
- (law) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).
- (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act on the other object. In any given context, action is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or left group action.
- (physics) The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.
- The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.
- (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
- (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.
- (obsolete) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.
- 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. IV, ch. 106:
- So saying he presented him with two actions of above two thousand livres each.
- 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
- the Euripus of funds and actions
- 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. IV, ch. 106:
Synonyms
- (something done): deed; see also Thesaurus:action
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- ? German: Action
- ? Russian: ???? (ekšn)
Translations
See also
- deed
- Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
References
- action on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Interjection
action!
- Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.
- Antonym: cut
Translations
Verb
action (third-person singular simple present actions, present participle actioning, simple past and past participle actioned)
- (transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
- (transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.
Usage notes
- The verb sense action is rejected by some usage authorities.
References
- OED 2nd edition 1989
- Notes:
Further reading
- action in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- action in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- Catino, actino-, atonic, cation, cation-?
French
Etymology
From Old French acciun, aucion, etymologically reconstructed in Middle French to resemble the Latin acti?.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ak.sj??/
- Homophone: axion
Noun
action f (plural actions)
- action, act, deed
- campaign
- stock, share
- (Switzerland) a special offer
Derived terms
Further reading
- “action” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
- cation, contai
Interlingua
Noun
action (plural actiones)
- action
Related terms
- active
- activitate
Middle English
Noun
action
- Alternative form of accion
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French acciun, aucion, etymologically reconstructed to resemble the Latin acti?.
Noun
action f (plural actions)
- action; act
Descendants
- French: action
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English accion.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ak???n/
Noun
action (plural actions)
- action
Verb
action (third-person singular present actions, present participle actionin, past actiont, past participle actiont)
- to action
References
- Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.
action From the web:
- what actions characterize authoritarian governments
- what action leads to reapportionment
- what action movie should i watch
- what action minimizes the risk of air
- what are five characteristics of authoritarian governments
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