rationality

[ rash-uh-nal-i-tee ]

noun

, plural ra·tion·al·i·ties.

1. the state or quality of being rational.
2. the possession of reason.
3. agreeableness to reason; reasonableness.
4. the exercise of reason.
5. a reasonable view, practice, etc.

Other Words From

• anti·ration·ali·ty noun adjective
• nonra·tion·ali·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rationality¹

First recorded in 1560–70, rationality is from the Late Latin word ratiōnālitās reasonableness. See rational, -ity

Example Sentences

Langer and her colleague Philip Maymin, of Fairfield University, used this aspect of mindfulness to try to reduce that familiar enemy of rationality—cognitive biases.

From Nautilus

So, this study does not show evidence that your rationality is improved by being mindful in the sense of how you go about dealing with your own thoughts.

From Nautilus

Eventually, people were agitated, and pretty soon there was no sense of rationality anymore with some.

From Washington Post

That was new for Martin, who had navigated his life only with logic and rationality.

From Popular-Science

The seemingly obvious notion that rationality requires thinking for oneself, he wrote, is “a romantic ideal which is thoroughly unrealistic.”

From MIT Technology Review

On Wednesday, anchor Shepard Smith gave Fox News viewers a dose of rationality.

From The Daily Beast

Of course, for the Baptist Convention, this was a matter of theology, not rationality.

From The Daily Beast

Remember when we all thought historical events would push us toward greater rationality, moderation, and liberalism?

From The Daily Beast

They are the epitome of old-school rationality and refinement—or at least they were until now.

From The Daily Beast

To devotees of rationality in markets, Tesla was a thumb in the eye.

From The Daily Beast

The sense of the desertion by humankind, by God and mercy and rationality swept through me and overwhelmed my inner self.

From Project Gutenberg

It heralds the return of rationality, the return to duty of the weighing and measuring qualities of the mind.

From Project Gutenberg

On the other hand, the more sudden a love the more intense it must be; also the less rationality can it have.

From Project Gutenberg

Any departure from rationality is madness, and for a man of Charles J. Johnson's calibre, suicide is an extremely irrational act.

From Project Gutenberg

As an emancipated rationality, you say you cut yourself loose from the convention of feeling.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• coherence
• good sense
• sanity