SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
rationalism
noun
A philosophical approach treating reason as a source of knowledge beyond what sensory experience alone provides.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Knowledge through reason
No close substitute is listed for this sense. The expressions below help explain the idea.
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topThese explanatory phrases describe the philosophical position. Rationalism is not simply sensible behavior, and it should not be substituted for rationality or empirical investigation.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See rationalism in use
The seminar contrasts rationalism with approaches that give greater priority to observation.
Rationalism entered the discussion when a student argued that reason could provide knowledge beyond what reports of particular experiences alone supplied.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Rationalism vs. Empiricism
- Princeton WordNet 3.0: wn30-n-05975473
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license