RATIONAL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • 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.

See images of 'Rational'

Etymology of 'Rational'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Rational" Quotes from Famous Books

... no more;—but of these mysteries anon. I rejoice to see you looking life-like and rational. The film of the shadow has already passed from off your eyes. Be of heart, and fear nothing. Your allotted days of stupor have expired, and to-morrow I will myself induct you into the full joys and wonders of your ...

— Edgar Allan Poe's Complete Poetical Works • Edgar Allan Poe

... extent and deteriorate in quality, and as, with the increase of our population, the demands upon forest products of all kinds become greater, the necessity of a rational system of forestry, and the need of educated foresters becomes more apparent every day. We should, moreover, constantly bear in mind that, while there are trees, as the catalpa, the ash and the hickory, which will attain merchantable size in forty or fifty years from the seed, there ...

— Arbor Day Leaves • N.H. Egleston

... thing. 'Urge what I would, they fined him. I talked to old Brewster! I appealed to his generosity, if there be room for generosity about a trout no bigger than a gudgeon! I talked to Mr. Calcott, who, I thought, had more sense, but Justice Shallow would have been more practicable! No one took a rational view but Ramsbotham of the factory, a very sensible man, with excellent feeling. When it is recorded in history, who will believe that seven moral, well-meaning men agreed in condemning a poor lad of ...

— Dynevor Terrace (Vol. I) - or, The Clue of Life • Charlotte M. Yonge

... vast a body of facts can be adduced against it, the only possible explanation of so extraordinary a circumstance is that of a mendacious intelligence of superhuman power carefully disposing all the observable facts of his creation in such a way as to compel his rational creatures, by the best and most impartial use of their rational faculties, to conclude that the theory of evolution is as certainly true as the theory of special ...

— The Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution • George John Romanes

... woman; for the humanity of these is in an inverse ratio to that of their lords. For the women it may be urged that the sport is a custom of the country; and what country is without its cruel sports? Is it rational or consistent to weep over the sufferings of Chanticleer, while we ride gaily upon the heels of poor ...

— The White Chief - A Legend of Northern Mexico • Mayne Reid

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