Cause, determinant, antecedent, reason, occasion are comparable when denoting what in whole or in part produces an effect or result.
Cause is applicable to an agent (as a circumstance, condition, event, or force) that contributes to the production of an effect or to any combination (as of circumstances, conditions, or events) that inevitably or necessarily brings about a result.
Cause is sometimes used of a personal agent whose activities are instrumental in bearing consequences or of the motive which prompts one to action.
A determinant is a circumstance, factor, element, quality, or motive that by itself or in combination with other factors conditions or fixes the nature of a result and especially of a product or outcome.
Antecedent is applicable to a person or thing (as an object or a circumstance, condition, or event) that is responsible, usually in part, for a later existing person or thing, most often as a progenitor, precursor, or prédéterminant.
Reason is interchangeable with cause when it means specifically a traceable or explainable cause; it always implies, therefore, that the effect is known or has actually been brought about.
Occasion applies to a situation or to a person, place, or event which provides such a situation that serves to set in motion causes already existing or to translate them into acts; thus, the cause of a war may be a deep-rooted enmity between two peoples, the occasion of it such a relatively unimportant incident as the murder of a citizen of one country within the confines of the other; an occasion of sin may be a visit to a place (as a saloon) where the real cause, a propensity to drink, is not resisted.