Word of the Day: Deduction

deduction

de-duc-tion / dĭ-dŭk-shən

noun

1. the act of subtracting or reducing

Any violation of this policy will result in the deduction of three points from your final class average.

“Math 355 Course Information”, ‘Calvin University’, www.sites.calvin.edu/tmk5/courses/m355/S13/info.pdf, accessed April 12, 2023

2. an amount that is used to reduce something

No matter how bad a child is, he is still good for a tax deduction.

American Proverb

3. the act of reaching a conclusion through reasoning

For example, observation shows me that you have been to the Wigmore Street Post-Office this morning, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram.

From “Sign of the Four” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859 – 1930

4. the conclusion reached after careful reasoning

But, before I begin to draw deductions, let me ask you a few questions.

From “The Lair of the White Worm” by Bram Stoker, 1847 – 1912

5. the systematic process of reaching a conclusion by the application of general principles to a specific occurrence

Intuition is the undoubting conception of a pure and attentive mind, which arises from the light of reason alone, and is more certain than deduction.

Rene Descartes, 1596 – 1650