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deduce

verb
de·​duce | \ di-ˈdüs How to pronounce deduce (audio) , dē-; chiefly British -ˈdyüs\
deduced; deducing

Definition of deduce

transitive verb

1 : to determine by reasoning or deduction deduce the age of ancient artifacts She deduced, from the fur stuck to his clothes, that he owned a cat. specifically, philosophy : to infer (see infer sense 1) from a general principle
2 : to trace the course of deduce their lineage
Other Words from deduce Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about deduce

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Other Words from deduce

deducible \ di-​ˈd(y)ü-​sə-​bəl How to pronounce deducible (audio) , dē-​ \ adjective

Choose the Right Synonym for deduce

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise. from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization. denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning. concluded that only the accused could be guilty judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based. judge people by their actions gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications. gathered their desire to be alone without a word

Examples of deduce in a Sentence

I can deduce from the simple observation of your behavior that you're trying to hide something from me.

Recent Examples on the Web

 Anatomy of a volcano From these analyses, the team deduced that five of the volcanoes seem to have erupted just once sometime around the last glacial maximum, some 20,000 years ago. — National Geographic, "Six underwater volcanoes found hiding in plain sight," 2 Aug. 2019 But the impact has been more muted on Main Street, another complication as the Fed tries to deduce the optimal path going forward. — Washington Post, "With the economy on the line, the Fed prepares to take its biggest gamble in years," 29 July 2019 Pessimists focused on the company's second quarter, which the company didn't break out, but was easy to deduce because Huawei did report that first quarter revenue jumped 39% to $32 billion. — Fortune, "How Sanctions Are Starting To Squeeze Huawei—Data Sheet," 31 July 2019 The ability to respond in ways that seem lifelike has been informed by research into such issues as how perceptions form, what constitutes social and emotional intelligence, and how people can deduce others’ thoughts and feelings. — Scientific American, "Social Robots Play Nicely with Others," 1 July 2019 Essentially, the researchers built an AI system that can look at a photo of pizza and deduce what ingredients should go on which layer of the pie. — Rachel Metz, CNN, "AI can learn how a pizza is assembled. Here's why that matters," 30 June 2019 As for children born out of wedlock, courts, especially those operating in the civil law tradition, deduced paternity from a man’s actions or public reputation. — The Conversation, oregonlive.com, "Who’s is your daddy? It’s not all about DNA," 16 June 2019 After looking up the visitors’ license plate and speaking to the man’s son, police soon deduced that the book had been left by two of the son’s former high school classmates. — Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "In Carver, going green to the extreme," 9 July 2019 As the kids deduce, even though Eleven closed the gate and the Mind Flayer vacated Will’s body, part of it is still out there in the world. — Rachel Paige, refinery29.com, "Your Stranger Things Season 3 Monster Questions, Answered," 5 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deduce.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of deduce

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for deduce

Middle English, from Latin deducere, literally, to lead away, from de- + ducere to lead — more at tow entry 1

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More Definitions for deduce

deduce

verb
How to pronounce deduce (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of deduce

formal : to use logic or reason to form (a conclusion or opinion about something) : to decide (something) after thinking about the known facts

See the full definition for deduce in the English Language Learners Dictionary

deduce

verb
de·​duce | \ di-ˈdüs How to pronounce deduce (audio) , -ˈdyüs\
deduced; deducing

Kids Definition of deduce

: to figure out by using reason or logic What can we deduce from the evidence?

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