as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning
it's irrational to think that you can continue to consume an excess of calories and not gain weight
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Recent Examples of irrational
Silver’s encouragement had filled me with irrational confidence.
—
Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
So was Odysseus’s response considered irrational and over-the-top to ancient Greeks?
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Those models lack sound scientific basis and produce irrational results, such as requiring that nuclear plants protect against radiation below naturally occurring levels.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
Photograph from Metropolitan Nashville Police Department / AP The pair would stay up late talking at Marone’s house, and when Friedmann got really candid something irrational and thrilling in him emerged.
—James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irrational
Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
So was Odysseus’s response considered irrational and over-the-top to ancient Greeks?
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Those models lack sound scientific basis and produce irrational results, such as requiring that nuclear plants protect against radiation below naturally occurring levels.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
Photograph from Metropolitan Nashville Police Department / AP The pair would stay up late talking at Marone’s house, and when Friedmann got really candid something irrational and thrilling in him emerged.
—James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irrational
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrational
Adjective
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Chicago residents must not be subject to unreasonable searches and seizures.—
Tracy Baim,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
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As in Williams’ case, attorneys argued that a sweep had violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment rights protecting them from unreasonable search and seizure, as well as their 14th Amendment right to due process.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Bainbridge knew about secrets and unreasoning shame.—
Christopher Tayler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Let sound political prescience but take the place of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.—
Frederick Douglass,
The Atlantic,
16 Aug. 2017
Adjective
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Outside the courthouse in Manhattan, small groups of supporters have denounced the trial as illegitimate.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Beatdapp, a firm specializing in streaming fraud detection, estimates fraudulent music streams generate approximately $2 billion in diverted, illegitimate royalties every year.—
Kyle Eustice,
VIBE.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrational. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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