Unreasonable

/ʌnˈriːzənəbəl/

adjectivemedium📊CommonJudgment
1 meaning3 questions

Definitions

1

Not fair or appropriate; exceeding the limits of what is reasonable or just.

/ʌnˈriːzənəbəl/

adjectivenegativemedium
Judgment

Not guided by or based on good sense or sound judgment.

The price of the house seemed unreasonable.

💡 Simply: Imagine someone is being totally unfair. Like, asking for a million cookies when they already ate a whole plate! That's unreasonable. It's like they're not using common sense.

👶 For kids: When someone wants something or does something that's not fair or doesn't make sense.

More Examples

2

It is unreasonable to expect me to work overtime every night.

3

The rules were considered unreasonable by many residents.

How It's Used

Legal

"The judge ruled the search was unreasonable."

Everyday Conversation

"His demands for a raise were quite unreasonable considering his poor performance."

From Old French *unraisonable*, from *un-* (not) + *raison* (reason).

The word 'unreasonable' has been in use since the 14th century, evolving in meaning from lack of reason to unfairness.

Memory tip

Imagine a situation where someone is being unfair or making demands that don't make sense. That's unreasonable.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"reason (ratio)"

unreasonable demandsunreasonable priceunreasonable behaviorunreasonable to expect

Common misspellings

unreazonableunreasanable

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written