Dictionary

unreasonable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈɹiːz.(ə)nə.bl̩/
• (UK) audio

Etymology

From Middle English unresonable, equivalent to un- + reasonable, originally partly after Latin irratiōnābilis.

Meanings

1. Without the ability to reason; unreasoning.
   • Hold thy desperate hand: Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art: Thy tears are womanish; thy wild acts denote The unreasonable fury of a beast: Unseemly woman in a seeming man! c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
2. Not reasonable; going beyond what could be expected or asked for.
   • For it seemeth to me vnreasonable, to send a prisoner, and not withall to signifie the crimes laid against him. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 25:27:
   • The will of those who never allow their will to be disputed, unless they happen to be in a good humour, when they relax proportionally, is almost always unreasonable. 1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, “Duty to Parents”, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page 358:
   • The groups claimed the administration’s planned operations targeted the city for its sanctuary status and amount to a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech and Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, according to the court filing . 2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez, Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2025:

Forms

Antonyms

reasonable

Deriveds

unreasonableness · unreasonably · Wednesbury unreasonable

Translations (27)

ro nerezonabil (not reasonable) · fi kohtuuton (not reasonable) · de unklug (not reasonable) · de unvernünftig (not reasonable) · bg нерезонен (not reasonable) · gv meeresoonagh (not reasonable) · gv neuresoonagh (not reasonable) · de unmäßig (not reasonable) · pl nierozsądny (not reasonable) · de kompromisslos (not reasonable) · it irragionevole (not reasonable) · pdt onveninftich (not reasonable) · te నిష్కారణము (not reasonable) · cy afresymol (not reasonable) · da urimelig (not reasonable) · sv oresonlig (not reasonable) · pt insensato (not reasonable) · eo senracia (not reasonable) · pt irracional (not reasonable) · fr déraisonnable (not reasonable) · de nicht nachvollziehbar (not reasonable) · ru неразу́мный (not reasonable) · es irrazonable (not reasonable) · grc ἄλογος (not reasonable) · la irratiōnābilis (not reasonable) · de übertrieben (not reasonable) · sv orimlig (not reasonable)