Definition

Noun: 1. The quality of being fair, sensible, and based on good judgment: The state or characteristic of being logical, moderate, and acceptable to a person of sound mind. 2. The quality of being moderate in price or expectations: The characteristic of being not excessive, especially regarding cost or demands. 3. The quality of being plausible or tenable: The characteristic of an idea, claim, or argument being capable of being believed or accepted as true or valid.

Usage Examples

• General Use:
  • The reasonableness of her argument convinced the committee.
  • We hope for a settlement based on mutual reasonableness.
• Regarding Price/Cost:
  • Customers appreciate the reasonableness of the hotel's rates.
  • The reasonableness of the offer made it impossible to refuse.
• Regarding Judgment/Expectations:
  • The judge's ruling was praised for its reasonableness.
  • His reasonableness in negotiations helped avoid a conflict.

Advanced Usage

• "Within the bounds/bounds of reasonableness": Used to describe something that is acceptable and not extreme.
  • The contractor's request for a deadline extension was within the bounds of reasonableness.
• "Test of reasonableness": A standard used to evaluate if a decision or action is fair and logical.
  • The court applied a test of reasonableness to the new regulation.

Variants and Related Words

• Reasonable (adj): Fair, sensible, and based on good judgment.
  • She made a very reasonable suggestion.
• Reasonably (adv): In a fair or sensible manner; to a moderate or acceptable degree.
  • The car is priced reasonably.
• Unreasonableness (n): The quality of being unfair, excessive, or not based on logic.
  • The unreasonableness of his demands led to the breakdown of talks.

Synonyms

• Fairness: Impartial and just treatment.
• Sensibleness: The quality of having or showing good sense.
• Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes.
• Rationality: The quality of being based on reason or logic.
• Plausibility: The quality of seeming reasonable or probable.

Antonyms

• Unreasonableness
• Irrationality
• Extremism
• Excessiveness
• Absurdity

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "A voice of reason/reasonableness": A person who expresses sensible, moderate opinions, especially during a disagreement.
  • Amidst the panic, she was a voice of reasonableness.
• "The reasonable man/person standard": A legal concept where an action is judged against what a hypothetical sensible and prudent person would have done.
  • The law often uses the reasonable person standard to determine negligence.

Noun

1. the quality of being plausible or acceptable to a reasonable person
   • he questioned the tenability of my claims
2. moderation in expectations
   • without greater reasonableness by both parties we will never settle this matter!
3. the property of being moderate in price or expenditures
   • the store is famous for the reasonableness of its prices
   • the modestness of the living standards here becomes obvious immediately
4. goodness of reason and judgment
   • the judiciary is built on the reasonableness of judges
5. the state of having good sense and sound judgment
   • his rationality may have been impaired
   • he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions