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Rationale: alternatives and connections

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26,102 words currently have published synonym-style alternatives
90,593 searchable synonym connections
350,924 published thesaurus relationships of every type
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Rationale

An explanation or exposition of the principles of some opinion, action, hypothesis, phenomenon, or the like; also, the principles themselves.

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42 useful connections shown 3 reviewed relationships and 39 broader connections.
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Reviewed alternatives and contrasts

These links were deliberately created. Use the interchangeability score and guidance to judge whether a word will work in your sentence.

Narrower term 1

Dialectics 76% connected

That branch of logic which teaches the rules and modes of reasoning; the application of logical principles to discursive reasoning; the science or ar…

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

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Broader term 1

Explanation 76% connected

The act of explaining, expounding, or interpreting; the act of clearing from obscurity and making intelligible; as, the explanation of a passage in S…

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a broader lexical category for at least one sense.

Definition Compare both words

Synonym 1

Principle 92% connected

Beginning; commencement.

oewn 2023 68% interchangeable

Open English WordNet places these words in at least one shared synset. They share a lexicalised sense, but context, register and collocation should still be checked before substitution.

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Words from the same subject

These terms belong to the same specialist field or topic. They help you explore the subject, but they are not automatically synonyms.

Counterclaim noun · 86% connection

a claim filed in opposition to another claim in a legal action

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Objection noun · 86% connection

(law) a procedure whereby a party to a suit says that a particular line of questioning or a particular witness or a piece of evidence…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Presumption noun · 86% connection

(law) an inference of the truth of a fact from other facts proved or admitted or judicially noticed

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Recusation noun · 86% connection

(law) an objection grounded on the judge's relationship to one of the parties

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Caveat noun · 85% connection

(law) a formal notice filed with a court or officer to suspend a proceeding until filer is given a hearing; "a caveat filed against th…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law.
Definition Compare
Interest noun · 85% connection

(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something; "they have interests all over the world"; "a stake…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law.
Definition Compare
Stake noun · 85% connection

(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something; "they have interests all over the world"; "a stake…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, General law.
Definition Compare
Argument noun · 85% connection

a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on"

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Argumentation noun · 85% connection

a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on"

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Debate noun · 85% connection

a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on"

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Deduction noun · 85% connection

reasoning from the general to the particular (or from cause to effect)

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Deductive reasoning noun · 85% connection

reasoning from the general to the particular (or from cause to effect)

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
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Dissertation noun · 85% connection

a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
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Entailment noun · 85% connection

something that is inferred (deduced or entailed or implied); "his resignation had political implications"

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Illation noun · 85% connection

the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusi…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
Implication noun · 85% connection

a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred; "the significance of his remark became clear only later"; "the expectation…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Import noun · 85% connection

a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred; "the significance of his remark became clear only later"; "the expectation…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Argument and reasoning, Essay and argument structure.
Definition Compare
Inference noun · 85% connection

the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusi…

Used in the same subject area: Academic vocabulary, Law, Argument and reasoning.
Definition Compare
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Words connected by meaning

Their definitions overlap or refer to similar ideas. Use these to widen your search, then compare the exact meanings.

Art noun · 78% connection

A system of rules serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions; a system of principles and rules for attaining a desired e…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Bible noun · 78% connection

A book with an authoritative exposition of some topic, respected by many who are experts in the field.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Check noun · 78% connection

additional proof that something that was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct; "fossils provided further confirmati…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Comment noun · 78% connection

A note or observation intended to explain, illustrate, or criticise the meaning of a writing, book, etc.; explanation; annotation; exp…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Confirmation noun · 78% connection

additional proof that something that was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct; "fossils provided further confirmati…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Consequence noun · 78% connection

a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon; "the magnetic effect was greater when the rod was lengthwise"; "h…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Declaration noun · 78% connection

The act of declaring, or publicly announcing; explicit asserting; undisguised token of a ground or side taken on any subject; proclama…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Effect noun · 78% connection

a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon; "the magnetic effect was greater when the rod was lengthwise"; "h…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Elucidation noun · 78% connection

A making clear; the act of elucidating or that which elucidates, as an explanation, an exposition, an illustration; as, one example ma…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Event noun · 78% connection

a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon; "the magnetic effect was greater when the rod was lengthwise"; "h…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Excursus noun · 78% connection

A dissertation or digression appended to a work, and containing a more extended exposition of some important point or topic.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Exegesis noun · 78% connection

Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text or portion of Scripture.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
Explication noun · 78% connection

The act of opening, unfolding, or explaining; explanation; exposition; interpretation.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: explanation, exposition, principles, some, opinion.
Definition Compare
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