deduce

verb

de·​duce di-ˈdüs How to pronounce deduce (audio)
dē-;
 chiefly British  -ˈdyüs
deduced; deducing
Synonyms of deducenext

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between deduction and induction?

Deductive reasoning, or deduction, is making an inference based on widely accepted facts or premises. If a beverage is defined as "drinkable through a straw," one could use deduction to determine soup to be a beverage. Inductive reasoning, or induction, is making an inference based on an observation, often of a sample. You can induce that the soup is tasty if you observe all of your friends consuming it. Read more on the difference between deduction and induction

What is the difference between abduction and deduction?

Abductive reasoning, or abduction, is making a probable conclusion from what you know. If you see an abandoned bowl of hot soup on the table, you can use abduction to conclude the owner of the soup is likely returning soon. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, is making an inference based on widely accepted facts or premises. If a meal is described as "eaten with a fork" you may use deduction to determine that it is solid food, rather than, say, a bowl of soup.

What is the difference between deduction and adduction?

Adduction is "the action of drawing (something, such as a limb) toward or past the median axis of the body," and "the bringing together of similar parts." Deduction may be "an act of taking away," or "something that is subtracted." Both words may be traced in part to the Latin dūcere, meaning "to lead."

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In addition to improving those methods, my team and other researchers have been developing ways to use AI for storm surge prediction using observed data, assessing the damage after hurricanes and processing camera images to deduce flood intensity. —Navid Tahvildari, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2025 There’s one song to deduce each day. —Kris Holt, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025 Someone will look back on 2025 and pick through the mountain of symphonies and movies and novels and museum exhibits that were being offered this fall and will deduce this was what America and Chicago were thinking in 2025. —Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025 Among the more than 36 million people watching the Fox broadcast were internet sleuths who quickly deduced the book’s title. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for deduce

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of deduce was in the 15th century

Rhymes for deduce

See All Rhymes for deduce

Browse Nearby Words

de dolo
deduce
deducement
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Deduce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deduce. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

deduce

verb
de·​duce di-ˈd(y)üs How to pronounce deduce (audio)
deduced; deducing
1
a
: to draw a conclusion about particular facts or examples by applying them to a general rule or principle
b
: to determine by reasoning from a general rule or principle
2
: to trace the course or origin of
deducible
-ˈd(y)ü-sə-bəl How to pronounce deduce (audio)
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on deduce

Nglish: Translation of deduce for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What’s the difference between ‘cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Skibidi, Mog & More: Gen Alpha Slang

13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Skibidi, Mog & More: Gen Alpha Slang

13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
pastel colored puzzle piece speech bubbles with shadows
Quiz: Find the Missing Link Figure out the word that fits both halves of the ...
See All