rational
Americanadjective
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agreeable to reason; reasonable; sensible.
a rational plan for economic development.
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having or exercising reason, sound judgment, or good sense.
a calm and rational negotiator.
- Synonyms:
- sagacious, judicious, wise, intelligent
- Antonyms:
- stupid
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being in or characterized by full possession of one's reason; sane; lucid.
The patient appeared perfectly rational.
- Antonyms:
- insane
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endowed with the faculty of reason.
rational beings.
-
of, relating to, or constituting reasoning powers.
the rational faculty.
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proceeding or derived from reason or based on reasoning.
a rational explanation.
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Mathematics.
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capable of being expressed exactly by a ratio of two integers.
-
(of a function) capable of being expressed exactly by a ratio of two polynomials.
-
-
Classical Prosody. capable of measurement in terms of the metrical unit or mora.
noun
adjective
-
using reason or logic in thinking out a problem
-
in accordance with the principles of logic or reason; reasonable
-
of sound mind; sane
the patient seemed quite rational
-
endowed with the capacity to reason; capable of logical thought
man is a rational being
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maths expressible as a ratio of two integers or polynomials
a rational number; a rational function
noun
Related Words
See reasonable.
Other Word Forms
- antirational adjective
- hyperrational adjective
- nonrational adjective
- overrational adjective
- prerational adjective
- quasi-rational adjective
- rationally adverb
- rationalness noun
- transrational adjective
- ultrarational adjective
- unrational adjective
Etymology
Origin of rational
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English racional, from Latin ratiōnālis, equivalent to ratiōn- (stem of ratiō ) reason + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We always talk about Iran as evil, but they are very rational," he said.
From BBC
The essence of modernity, Mr. Mansfield argues, lies in the idea of “rational control.”
“Nereids follow their own laws, Christopher. They’re profoundly rational, but in the same way that the sea is rational. Much of their language, Nerish, has no translation at all into any human tongue.”
From Literature
Cerf “wasn’t afraid to tell her that he considered her philosophy of rational selfishness ‘abhorrent,’” Ms. Feldman writes, “but at the same time, he promised that if RH published her, ‘nobody’ would be a censor.”
"Consolidating control at home... appears to be the more rational course of action for Xi than launching a war whose outcome cannot be assured."
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
