Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Capable of reasoning; rational.
  • adjective Governed by or being in accordance with reason or sound thinking.
  • adjective Being within the bounds of common sense.
  • adjective Not excessive or extreme; fair.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Reasonably.
  • Having the faculty of reason; endowed with reason; rational, as opposed to brute.
  • Characterized by the use of reason; amenable to reason or sound sense; not senseless, foolish, or extravagant in thought or action.
  • Conformable to or required by reason; due to or resulting from good judgment; rationally sound, sensible, natural, etc.
  • Not exceeding the bounds of reason or common sense; moderate; tolerable.
  • Moderate in amount or price; not high or dear: as, reasonable charges or prices; reasonable goods.
  • In law, befitting a person of reason or sound sense; such as a prudent man would exercise or act upon in his own affairs: as, reasonable care; reasonable diligence; reasonable cause.
  • Calculable; computable; hence, detailed; itemized.
  • Talkative; ready in conversation.
  • Synonyms Rational, Reasonable. See rational.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having the faculty of reason; endued with reason; rational.
  • adjective Governed by reason; being under the influence of reason; thinking, speaking or acting rationally, or according to the dictates of reason; agreeable to reason; just; rational.
  • adjective Not excessive or immoderate; within due limits; proper.
  • adverb obsolete Reasonably; tolerably.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Just; fair; agreeable to reason.
  • adjective Not expensive; fairly priced.
  • adjective Satisfactory.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by sound judgment
  • adjective showing reason or sound judgment
  • adjective not excessive or extreme

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French resnable, from Late Latin rationabilis, more at reason, -able.

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Examples

  • The conversation at first consisted of mutual declarations of disposition to reasonable accommodations, but I suppose each party had its own ideas of what should be meant by _reasonable_.

    Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin 1748

  • In case you're wondering, according to the bill, "The term 'reasonable profit' means the amount determined by the Reasonable Profits Board to be a reasonable profit on the sale."

    Forbes.com: News Christopher Helman 2012

  • They have no concept of what the term reasonable means.

    catpewk Diary Entry catpewk 2004

  • Troy Davis' case will be used in law school as the textbook definition of the phrase "reasonable doubt," yet it was somehow beyond our collective will to spare his life.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Mychal Denzel Smith 2011

  • The analysts credited what they called a "reasonable" valuation and stronger signs in the home-improvement sector.

    Stocks Hold On for Gain Brendan Conway 2011

  • GOP leaders say Democrats are sabotaging the deal while planning to blame Republicans by refusing to accept what they call reasonable funding ideas, such as an increase in Medicare premiums for some wealthy beneficiaries.

    Talks Bog Down on Extending Payroll-Tax Cut Naftali Bendavid 2012

  • In March, the company disclosed an estimated $3.4 billion for what it calls "reasonable" and "upper end" legal losses from the pending cases—or just about under half of the company's net income in 2010.

    You Won't Read This Story About Goldman 2011

  • And those weak links are what we call reasonable doubt.

    CNN Transcript May 13, 2009 2009

  • LAWRENCE: And that balance, according to the president, credit card companies are able to make what he called reasonable profit, and consumers don't end up in a bad situation -- Wolf.

    CNN Transcript Apr 23, 2009 2009

  • Despite lowering his forecast, he kept a buy recommendation on the stock, citing what he called reasonable valuation.

    Negativity Steve Hulett 2008

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