rationalism

noun

ra·​tio·​nal·​ism ˈrash-nə-ˌli-zəm 

ˈra-shə-nə-ˌli-

1

: reliance on reason as the basis for establishment of religious truth

2

a

: a theory that reason is in itself a source of knowledge superior to and independent of sense perceptions

b

: a view that reason and experience rather than the nonrational are the fundamental criteria in the solution of problems

3

: functionalism sense 2

rationalist

ˈrash-nə-list 

ˈra-shə-nə-list

noun

rationalist adjective

or rationalistic

ˌrash-nə-ˈli-tik 

ˌra-shə-nə-ˈli-

rationalistically

ˌrash-nə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌra-shə-nə-ˈli-

adverb

Examples of rationalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The inherent orthodoxy of his premise excluded all other alternatives to narrow-minded rationalism and its ethical constraints. —Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

More than a retrospective, the installation interrogates the tension between Modernist ideals and today’s ecological realities, moving beyond industrial rationalism toward a wilder, more organic future. —Natalie Stoclet, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

Dugin rails against the European Enlightenment, the intellectual root of modern rationalism and liberalism, and defines himself in the lineage of Counter-Enlightenment thinkers, such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2025

But in fact, modern-day rationalism cultivates all types of wild thinking. —Aja Romano, Vox, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1732, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rationalism

• activism
• ageism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism