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

In a sense, what Kurz did was inject respectability and rationalism into what was at heart a populist platform. —Franz-Stefan Gady, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2017

But First … Issue The View from Here Is Silicon Valley a bastion of rationalism? —Air Mail, 24 May 2025

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

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