rational

Academic Word List, sublist 6.

About 23.68 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Capable of reasoning.

   Man is a rational creature.

2. adjective Behaving according to some partial order of preferences.
3. adjective Logically sound; not self-contradictory or otherwise absurd.

   His statements were quite rational.

4. adjective Healthy or balanced intellectually; exhibiting reasonableness.

   rational conduct

5. adjective Comprising, or expressible as, a ratio Of a number, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two integers.

   ¾ is a rational number, but √2 is an irrational number.

6. adjective Of a number, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two integers.

   ¾ is a rational number, but √2 is an irrational number.

7. adjective Of an algebraic expression in indeterminates, or more generally a function: capable of being expressed as the ratio of two polynomials.
8. adjective Of a variety: (informally) geometrically simple almost everywhere; (formally) birationally equivalent to projective space

Similar words

reasonable sane logical reasoning intellectual thinking mental intelligent coherent lucid

Often followed by

and choice basis expectations being beings or to thought

Word family

rationalisation rationalisations rationalise rationalised rationalises rationalising rationalism rationality rationalization rationalizations