irrationality

Definition of irrationalitynext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of irrationality In other words, emotion, empathy and irrationality could be seen as some of the most powerful counterweights to AI. Billy J. Stratton, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026 This is where the irrationality of antisemitic conspiracy gains no purchase among a reasoning and pragmatic populace; where government is led by people who grasp, and embrace, the seriousness of their responsibilities. Rory Lancman, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026 Despite the seriocomic set-up, as Vibeke gets more unstable, Mengel refuses to play her irrationality for laughs, instead taking the more difficult route of earnestness. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 7 July 2026 Moreover, experts should introduce deliberate irrationality to disrupt the model’s predictive path. Syed Ahmad, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 Viral memes and TikTok trends play up women’s purportedly excessive spike in libido during ovulation and dramatic irrationality during menstruation and the luteal phase (the 14 days or so between ovulation and menstruation). Andréa Becker, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026 But this often requires accepting the fundamental irrationality of the wrapping-up process. Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026 The irrationality of politicians suddenly makes sense. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026 Such irrationality proofs have been rare — and at times, according to longtime Quanta contributor Erica Klarreich, dramatic. Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 18 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrationality
Noun
  • If the assassination made the President a Christlike figure, his forbearance in the face of a wife’s unreasonableness provides him with an extra measure of purity.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Noun
  • Marine Le Pen has worked for years to distance herself from his extremism.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For much of the first two decades of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s time in office, the reigning model of state security was fighting terrorism and extremism.
    Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Or Pablo Picasso, goaded into radicalism by the latest bizarre creations of Matisse, retreating to the Spanish mountain village of Gósol and, mere months later, beginning work on his proto-cubist masterpiece, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
    Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
  • But Fosdick’s real radicalism lay in his insistence that Scripture was not static or inerrant but needed to be read in the context of an evolving culture and country.
    Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Irrationality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrationality. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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