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Glite Dictionary
to stand to reason

to stand to reason

25 3.9
To seem likely from the facts
  • idiom
translation icon : tener sentido
  • For since human sociality is natural, it stands to reason that justice, the quintessential social virtue, is itself natural.
  • Therefore, it stands to reason
  • then it stands to reason

I mean, it just stands to reason this box's blackness is in the box.

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Examples

  • Given the circumstances, it stands to reason that we should be more careful in our planning.

  • Therefore, it stands to reason that the human body is hard-wired for sex.

    Blog text (23)

  • Yeah, I suppose that stands to reason.

    Red State (2011)

  • If so, it stood to reason that you and she would eventually run into each other.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • So it stands to reason they must have gone up the back way.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Given this human need to make music, it stands to reason that including music making in the middle school music class is an obvious choice.

    Academic text (2011)

  • It stands to reason that restoring communications would be their top priority.

    The Mist (2007)

  • Adding in the wake of an unprecedented economic slowdown, it stands to reason that a focus on fundamentals is natural.

    Academic text (2010)

  • A business model is meant to guide people in a direction that will help them succeed, but if the mix of people is changing, it stands to reason that models must shift or be examined to see how they can adapt to the updated landscape.

    Academic text (2016)

  • It stands to reason that there was something in the injections that made the prisoners violent, or more prone to deviant behaviour, ensuring their return to Hecuba.

    The Last Summer (2013)

Synonyms

to make sense
vsto stand to reason
858 1.4

To be easy to understand and seem reasonable

is clear because the facts make it an obvious conclusion
to hold water
vsto stand to reason
12 4.9

To make sense and seem believable when checked

is obvious from the facts rather than proved by scrutiny

Antonyms

unclear
207 3.9

Not easy to understand or know for sure

illogical
43 4.8

Does not make sense or follow clear reasons

How Logical

to stand to reason
25 3.9
to make sense
858 1.4

Surface Forms

stand to reason infinitive
standing to reason present participle
stands to reason third person singular
stood to reason past
stood to reason past participle

Morphology

stand + to + reason

The noun 'reason' directly signals logic, so a learner who knows the words may infer the expression relates to something being logical or sensible. However, the verb phrase 'stand to' uses a non-literal, idiomatic stative sense that is not fully predictable from 'stand' + 'to' alone, so the exact sense 'be obvious or follow from the facts' typically requires some exposure.

Etymology

The phrase stand to reason may come from the simple image of something that stands firmly beside the reason (the facts), like a sign you can see clearly. So, when something stands to reason it is 'obvious' or 'logical' from the facts.