rea ‧ son ‧ a ‧ ble S1 W2 /ˈriːz ə nəb ə l/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ reason , ↑ reasoning , ↑ reasonableness ; adjective : ↑ reasonable ≠ ↑ unreasonable , ↑ reasoned ; verb : ↑ reason ; adverb : ↑ reasonably ≠ ↑ unreasonably ]
1 . fair and sensible OPP unreasonable :
a reasonable request
Be reasonable – you can’t expect her to do all the work on her own!
I thought it was a perfectly reasonable (=completely reasonable) question.
it is reasonable to do something
It seems reasonable to assume they’ve been tested.
He had reasonable grounds (=good reasons but no proof) for believing the law had been broken.
a reasonable explanation/excuse
It sounded like a reasonable enough excuse to me.
2 . fairly good, but not especially good SYN average :
She has a reasonable chance of doing well in the exam.
3 . a reasonable amount is fairly large:
I’ve got a reasonable amount of money saved.
4 . reasonable prices are not too high SYN fair :
good food at a reasonable price
5 . beyond (a) reasonable doubt law if something is proved beyond reasonable doubt, it is shown to be almost certainly true
—reasonableness noun [uncountable]
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ perfectly/entirely reasonable ( also eminently reasonable formal ) (=completely reasonable)
The proposal sounds perfectly reasonable.
▪ reasonable enough (=fairly reasonable)
It was a reasonable enough question.
■ nouns
▪ a reasonable explanation/excuse
He tried to think of a reasonable excuse.
▪ a reasonable request
He had refused to obey a reasonable request from a senior member of staff.
▪ a reasonable question
Here is one possible answer to that very reasonable question.
▪ a reasonable assumption
It is a reasonable assumption that he pressed the wrong button.
▪ reasonable grounds (=good reasons)
She must show that she had some reasonable grounds for her action.