rationalism

[ rash-uh-nl-iz-uhm ]
See synonyms for: rationalismrationalisticrationalist on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct.

  2. Philosophy.

    • the doctrine that reason alone is a source of knowledge and is independent of experience.

    • (in the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, etc.) the doctrine that all knowledge is expressible in self-evident propositions or their consequences.

  1. Theology. the doctrine that human reason, unaided by divine revelation, is an adequate or the sole guide to all attainable religious truth.

  2. Architecture.(often initial capital letter)

    • a design movement principally of the mid-19th century that emphasized the development of modern ornament integrated with structure and the decorative use of materials and textures rather than as added adornment.

    • the doctrines and practices of this movement.: Compare functionalism (def. 1).

Origin of rationalism

1
First recorded in 1790–1800; rational + -ism

Other words from rationalism

  • ra·tion·al·ist, noun
  • ra·tion·al·is·tic, ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal, adjective
  • ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·ra·tion·al·ism, noun
  • an·ti·ra·tion·al·ist, noun, adjective
  • an·ti·ra·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
  • non·ra·tion·al·ism, noun
  • non·ra·tion·al·ist, noun
  • non·ra·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
  • non·ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal, adjective
  • non·ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby rationalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rationalism in a sentence

  • Anselm had successfully battled with the rationalism of Roscelin, and also had furnished a new argument for the existence of God.

  • Similar superstitions attached to somnabulism; see Lecky, “History of rationalism,” vol.

    The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
  • How far the gloomy materialism and superficial rationalism of Lewes may have affected the opinions of Miss Evans we cannot tell.

British Dictionary definitions for rationalism

rationalism

/ (ˈræʃənəˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. reliance on reason rather than intuition to justify one's beliefs or actions

  2. philosophy

    • the doctrine that knowledge about reality can be obtained by reason alone without recourse to experience

    • the doctrine that human knowledge can all be encompassed within a single, usually deductive, system

    • the school of philosophy initiated by Descartes which held both the above doctrines

  1. the belief that knowledge and truth are ascertained by rational thought and not by divine or supernatural revelation

Derived forms of rationalism

  • rationalist, noun
  • rationalistic, adjective
  • rationalistically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012