deduction

noun

di-ˈdək-shən How to pronounce deduction (audio)
Definition of deductionnext
1
as in reduction
something that is or may be subtracted contestants get a deduction from their scores for every incorrect guess

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2
as in subtraction
the act or an instance of taking away from a total the deduction of the amount awarded to the plaintiff in order to pay the legal fees

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3
as in inference
an opinion arrived at through a process of reasoning his impressive deduction of the correct answer from only a few hints

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of deduction Investors tend to be OK with only a percentage of investment returned in the form of a tax credit and deductions and losses claimed on tax returns. — Kim Jackson, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026 Highlands has proposed repaying the state through deductions from future state funding, but the bankruptcy court deferred a decision on that proposal until the final hearing in November. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026 This case involved a restaurant owner accused of underreporting more than US$2 million in business receipts and claiming unsupported depreciation deductions on rental properties. — Kaitlin Newkirk, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 City has been found guilty of widespread breaches of the Premier League's financial rules which could result in punishments including a massive fine, points deductions or even expulsion from England's top flight. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for deduction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deduction
  1. reduction
  2. subtraction
  3. inference
  4. discount
  5. determination
  6. conclusion
Noun
  • The district plans to make about $1 million in reductions during the 2027-28 academic year regardless of the referendum, according an infographic from the district.
    — Elena Tittel, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Schmidt expects that kind of workforce reduction to become more common as AI makes businesses more efficient.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of reduction
Noun
  • Chryssa Ntalaka’s classroom has become an object lesson in subtraction.
    — LEFTERIS PITARAKIS, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The most significant subtractions are interest on federal bonds and $24,000 pension deduction.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of subtraction
Noun
  • Through a partnership with Amazon Web Services , Cerebras is developing an approach called inference disaggregation, which splits the work between two types of chips.
    — Paul Meeks, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On October 1st, OpenAI resumed reinforcement learning training and internal inference with tighter security measures, the blog post says.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of inference
Noun
  • Today's Amazon Deals of the Day is doing just that, by running epic discounts on some of the best home security tech out there.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers ran 100,000 simulations using different revenue and discount-rate assumptions, and 85% produced a net loss for the state.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of discount
Noun
  • Sandy’s medical expenses were submitted to Kaiser for possible reimbursement; a determination remains pending.
    — Lance B. Fulford, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The federal government will then issue its final determinations, and what happens next will be unexplored legal territory.
    — Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of determination
Noun
  • As questions piled up, investigators reached a single, clear conclusion.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • His conclusion was that the chatbot has probably never lived a life that needed cinema.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of conclusion

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deducting
deduction
deductions
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Cite this Entry

“Deduction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deduction. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on deduction

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about deduction

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