Rationale

How to spell rationale

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce rationale

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rationale mean?

1. nounThe set of reasons or logical basis that explains a decision, belief, or course of action.

Rationale in a sentence

• The manager explained the rationale behind the new shift pattern.

• The report sets out a clear rationale for cutting the travel budget.

Where does rationale come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin rationalis, meaning 'reasonable' or 'pertaining to reason', which was built on ratio, a noun for 'reckoning', 'calculation', or 'reason', itself from the verb reri 'to reckon or think'. English adopted the neuter singular form rationale in the seventeenth century, originally to name a reasoned exposition or statement of underlying principles, before it settled into the modern sense of the logical basis behind a decision or action. The same ratio root quietly underlies a whole family of English words, including 'ratio', 'ration', 'rational', and even 'reason' itself, which reached English by a more roundabout French route. Because the ending is the Latin -ale rather than the more familiar English -al, the final silent 'e' is exactly the spot where writers stumble, often dropping it to produce the unrelated adjective 'rational'. Keeping the link to ratio in mind, plus that closing -ale, is the surest way to remember the spelling.

How the word is built

• ration- (from Latin ratio: reckoning, reason)
• -ale (neuter form of -alis, used as a noun)