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Definition of rational adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rational

adjective
 
/ˈræʃnəl/
 
/ˈræʃnəl/
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  1. (of behaviour, ideas, etc.) based on reason rather than emotions
    • a rational argument/choice/decision
    • rational analysis/thought
    • There is no rational explanation for his actions.
    Extra Examples
    • It all seemed quite rational to me.
    • In some ways their behaviour is perfectly rational.
    • She seems incapable of making a rational decision.
    • We need to present them with a rational argument.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    adverb
    • highly
    • very
    • completely
    preposition
    • about
    See full entry
  2. (of a person) able to think clearly and make decisions based on reason rather than emotions synonym reasonable
    • No rational person would ever behave like that.
    • Try to be rational about it.
    • Humans are essentially rational beings.
    • She said that she had not been fully rational when she signed the form.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    adverb
    • highly
    • very
    • completely
    preposition
    • about
    See full entry
  3. opposite irrational
    Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘having the ability to reason’): from Latin rationalis, from ratio(n-) ‘reckoning, reason’, from rat- ‘reckoned’, from the verb reri.
See rational in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee rational in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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