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Glite Dictionary
reasoning backward

reasoning backward

7.4
To start with the end and find steps to reach it
  • noun
translation icon : razonamiento inverso
  • Chess players employ reasoning backward to plan their moves several steps ahead.

Examples

  • Detectives often use reasoning backward to figure out how a crime was committed.

  • Solving certain mathematical problems requires reasoning backward from the desired answer.

  • His reasoning backward led him to the correct solution.

  • Can you explain your reasoning backward process?

  • The detective used reasoning backward to determine how the crime was committed.

  • In mathematics, reasoning backward helps students find the steps needed to solve complex equations.

  • The scientist applied reasoning backward to figure out the initial conditions that led to the experiment's results.

Synonyms

regress
vsreasoning backward
  • Formal
1 9.9

A chain of reasons that never ends because each reason needs another

is a practical method that starts from the goal to deduce needed steps

Surface Forms

reasoning backward singular
reasoning backward plural
reasoning backwards plural
reasoning backwards singular

Morphology

reasoning + backward

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'reasoning' (logical thinking) with 'backward' (toward earlier steps); it denotes reasoning that proceeds in reverse order. This compositional modifier+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Reasoning backward comes from the image of starting at the end and moving back step by step. Imagine solving a maze by standing at the exit and walking back to the start; that picture shows how you work from the goal to find the earlier steps, so it means 'to solve a problem by starting with the answer you want'.