RATIONAL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Rational

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/rˈæʃənəl/ /rˈæʃnəl/ Listen

adjective

Rational adj.

1.

Relating to the reason; not physical; mental. "Moral philosophy was his chiefest end; for the rational, the natural, and mathematics... were but simple pastimes in comparison of the other."

2.

Having reason, or the faculty of reasoning; endowed with reason or understanding; reasoning. "It is our glory and happiness to have a rational nature."

3.

Agreeable to reason; not absurd, preposterous, extravagant, foolish, fanciful, or the like; wise; judicious; as, rational conduct; a rational man.

4.

(Chem.) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and reactions of a compound; graphic; said of formulae. See under Formula.

Rational horizon. (Astron.) See Horizon, 2 (b).

Rational quantity (Alg.), one that can be expressed without the use of a radical sign, or in exact parts of unity; opposed to irrational or radical quantity.

Rational symptom (Med.), one elicited by the statements of the patient himself and not as the result of a physical examination.

Synonyms: Sane; sound; intelligent; reasonable; sensible; wise; discreet; judicious. Rational, reasonable. Rational has reference to reason as a faculty of the mind, and is opposed to irrational; as, a rational being, a rational state of mind, rational views, etc. In these cases the speculative reason is more particularly, referred to. Reasonable has reference to the exercise of this faculty for practical purposes, and means, governed or directed by reason; as, reasonable desires or plans; a reasonable charge; a reasonable prospect of success. "What higher in her society thou find'st Attractive, human, rational, love still." "A law may be reasonable in itself, although a man does not allow it, or does not know the reason of the lawgivers."

noun

Rational n. A rational being.

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Etymology of 'Rational'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Rational" Quotes from Famous Books

... in contact with the modern educational influences was most interestingly manifest in the person of Swami Vivekananda (Reverend Rational-bliss we may render his adopted name), representative of Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. The representative Hindu was not even a member of the priestly caste, as we have already told. It were tedious to analyse his Hinduism, as set forth at Chicago ...

— New Ideas in India During the Nineteenth Century - A Study of Social, Political, and Religious Developments • John Morrison

... it is a singular fact that science had quite as much to do with ridding agriculture and the manufacture of commodities of debilitating superstitions that not only retarded progress but were positively injurious to both man and material, as it had to do with the introduction of rational ideas. The rapid increase of the world's population and the very general occupancy of arable lands throughout the world, presupposes that the maximum of food production will soon be reached. A liberal and general diffusion of scientific information among agriculturists alone can augment ...

— A Broader Mission for Liberal Education • John Henry Worst

... scene would probably be too great for our limited and imperfect comprehension, and it is no doubt among the wise dispensations of Providence, to veil the splendour of a glory with which we should be overpowered. But it is well suited to the nature of a rational being to explore, step by step, the works of the creation, to endeavour to connect them into harmonious systems; and, in a word, to trace in the chain of beings, the kindred ties and benevolent design which unites its various links, and secure ...

— Conversations on Chemistry, V. 1-2 • Jane Marcet

... the other, "it will take much argument to convince you, or any other rational being, that separation would not only be beneficial, but is absolutely necessary for the welfare of Moreton Bay. In the first place, we are not adequately represented in the Assembly; and, in the next, five to six hundred miles is too great ...

— Fern Vale (Volume 1) - or the Queensland Squatter • Colin Munro

... of grass appeared for the first time to gladden the eyes, although many an ice-wreath and snowy hollow still lay between. On such a day the sight of a folded head of saxifrage from which the pearls are just breaking makes the heart of man bound with a pleasure that has certainly no rational ...

— The Mermaid - A Love Tale • Lily Dougall

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