rational
[rash-uh-nl, rash-nl]
- agreeable to reason; reasonable; sensible: a rational plan for economic development.
- having or exercising reason, sound judgment, or good sense: a calm and rational negotiator.
- being in or characterized by full possession of one's reason; sane; lucid: The patient appeared perfectly rational.
- endowed with the faculty of reason: rational beings.
- of, relating to, or constituting reasoning powers: the rational faculty.
- proceeding or derived from reason or based on reasoning: a rational explanation.
- Mathematics.
- 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.
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- Mathematics. rational number.
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Origin of rational
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rational on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
2. stupid. 3. insane.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rationally
Contemporary Examples
When I fielded telephone calls, my attempts to rationally discuss the subject were complete failures.
That is a message that might rationally resonate with independents, because it is rooted in fact.
The rational mind of course is correct, rationally—but we are not rational animals.
In Part 1, we learn that political opinions don't come from rationally developing arguments.
Annie Martin is still too peeved to rationally discuss comic Steve Harvey.
Historical Examples
His worthy brother, the Major, might have been as rationally suspected.
The GroupMercy Warren
They acted "instinctively," or automatically, not rationally.
FolkwaysWilliam Graham Sumner
All I have to ask is that we talk reasonably and rationally about it.
The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume ThreeAbraham Lincoln
To a man there is but one choice that he can rationally make, a marriage of love.
Outside of America there are no cars that are so rationally devised.
Following the Equator, CompleteMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
rational
- using reason or logic in thinking out a problem
- in accordance with the principles of logic or reason; reasonable
- of sound mind; sanethe patient seemed quite rational
- endowed with the capacity to reason; capable of logical thoughtman is a rational being
- maths expressible as a ratio of two integers or polynomialsa rational number; a rational function
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- maths a rational number
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin ratiōnālis, from ratiō reason
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
Word Origin and History for rationally
rational
adj.
late 14c., "pertaining to reason;" mid-15c., "endowed with reason," from Old French racionel and directly from Latin rationalis "of or belonging to reason, reasonable," from ratio (genitive rationis) "reckoning, calculation, reason" (see ratio).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rational
(răsh′ə-nəl)- Having or exercising the ability to reason.
- Influenced by reasoning rather than by emotion.
- Of sound mind; sane.
- Based on scientific knowledge or theory rather than practical observation.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.