conclusion

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A decision or opinion you form after thinking about the facts or evidence.

   Grammar: Often used with come to, reach, or draw: reach a conclusion, draw a conclusion.

   Patterns

   • come to the conclusion that
   • reach a conclusion
   • draw a conclusion from something

   After reading both reports, I came to the conclusion that the tests were flawed.

   The jury reached a conclusion within two hours.

   It is easy to jump to conclusions when you only hear one side.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   The last part of something, such as a speech, essay, or event.

   Grammar: Often introduced by in: in conclusion, at the conclusion of the meeting.

   Patterns

   • the conclusion of something
   • in conclusion
   • at the conclusion of something

   The conclusion of the essay repeats the main argument.

   At the conclusion of the concert, the audience stood and applauded.

   In conclusion, the data support our original idea.

3. 3noununcountableformal

   The formal settling or completion of an agreement or deal.

   Grammar: Used with of: the conclusion of a treaty.

   Patterns

   • the conclusion of something

   The conclusion of the peace treaty ended years of fighting.

   Both sides welcomed the conclusion of the trade agreement.

   Lawyers are working toward the conclusion of the sale.

Word forms

Common combinations

reach a conclusion

The panel reached a conclusion after reviewing all the evidence.

draw a conclusion

You cannot draw a conclusion from one small sample.

jump to conclusions

Don't jump to conclusions before you know the full story.

foregone conclusion

With such a big lead, the result was a foregone conclusion.

in conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone who helped.

bring to a conclusion

They hope to bring the talks to a conclusion by Friday.

Synonyms and how they differ

verdict

Verdict is a formal judgment, usually in a court, while conclusion can be any opinion reached by reasoning.

ending

Ending is the plain word for the last part of a story or event, and conclusion is more formal and used for essays and talks.

inference

Inference stresses the reasoning step from evidence, whereas conclusion is the result you end up with.

finish

Finish simply means the point where something stops, with none of the idea of a reasoned outcome.

Opposites

Word family

conclude verb

to decide something from evidence, or to end

conclusive adjective

settling a matter beyond doubt

conclusively adverb

in a way that leaves no doubt

inconclusive adjective

not leading to a clear result

Commonly confused: conclusion or conclusive?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “conclusion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words