Rationability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being based on reason, sound judgment, or logical justification rather than emotion or impulse
2. The state of acting or thinking in a manner that is sensible, logical, and consistent with good reasoning
3. Reasonableness in thought or action, meaning the capacity to be guided by logic and sound principles

Etymology: "Rationability" entered English in Middle English as "racionabilite," borrowed directly from the Classical Latin "ratiōnābilitās," a learned term built on "ratiōnābilis," meaning reasonable or endowed with reason. The English form is a fairly transparent compound of "ration(al)" and "-ability," so its surface shape suggests a pairing of "rational" with the "-ability" suffix that turns adjectives into nouns of quality. Its pedigree goes back to Latin "ratio," reason or calculation, the same root behind "ratio" and "rational." The word is a doublet of "reasonability," the two having arisen from the same Latin source by different routes into English. The Latin-derived form kept its learned, Latinate flavour, while "reasonability" took a more native-sounding path through the English adjective "reasonable." Both words express the quality of being sensible or capable of reasoning, and they sit side by side in the language as near-synonyms.

Synonyms: rationality, reasonableness

Antonyms: irrationality, unreasonableness