Reasonable

How to spell reasonable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce reasonable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reasonable mean?

1. adjectiveShowing good sense or sound judgement; fair and not excessive.
2. adjectiveNot too expensive; moderate in cost.

Reasonable in a sentence

• The manager made a reasonable request for a short extension on the report.

• The small hotel offered clean rooms at a reasonable rate.

• It seems reasonable to expect a reply within two working days.

• She found a reasonable price on the same laptop at another shop.

Where does reasonable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin rationabilis, meaning 'endowed with reason' or 'rational', which was built on ratio, a noun for reckoning, calculation, and the faculty of judgement. English took it in during the 1300s by way of Old French raisonable, where it already carried the sense of being sensible and acting within the bounds of good judgement. From the broad idea of 'governed by reason' the meaning branched out to cover anything fair, moderate, or not excessive, which is how we later came to speak of a reasonable price. The same ratio root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'ratio', 'rational', and 'rate', all of which share the underlying notion of measured calculation. For spelling, it helps to see the whole word 'reason' sitting unchanged at the front, with the ending simply tacked on as the familiar -able rather than -ible.

How the word is built

• reason (from Latin ratio: reckoning, judgement)
• -able (capable of, fit for)