What is the difference between Rational and Rationale?

The reason why most people consider “rational” and “rationale” to be the same is that the two words look similar. Although the words “rational” and “rationale” are two similar words, mostly in terms of spellings, they also differ from each other in terms of meaning. The two words belong to different parts of speech; rational is an adjective, whereas rationale is a noun.

Rational is used to describe something capable of reasoning. You can also use it to describe something that sounds logical or sensible. A rational person will make logically sound statements. In mathematics, rational is used to refer to a number that can be expressed as the ratio of two integers.

On the other hand, “rationale” means an explanation of the fundamental reasons for something. There are instances you could be asked to give a rationale for a decision or an action you have taken. For example, “John was able to provide a rationale for the decision he made yesterday.”

The English language has many words that are spelled very similarly, and because of that, they are confused with one another. Rational and Rationale is an example of that. The only difference in their spelling is one letter, which is why many use them interchangeably; however, there are many differences between these two words.

Rational is used in the subject of math. It describes numbers that have the ability to be expressed as a ration. The rationale is to explain the reasoning behind something and gives a basis for the action. An example of using this word is "His rationale for cheating on the test was that he did not want to fail the class."

Rational and rationale are often interchanged with each other because they seem to be the same. Take note that they are different in a sense that rational is a type of adjective, which means sensible or even logical. When you say rationale, this is a type of noun. The meaning of this is that there are different reasons that are meant to support a claim. These two words should be used differently.

For example, if you are going to use rationale in a sentence, you can say, “There is a real rationale why there are some business changes that should occur.” If you are going to use the word rational, you can say, “You need to be rational about the changes that are going to happen to the business.”

Rational and Rationale are two different words, especially in terms of meaning. However, these two words look very similar to the point that you might think they are the same. Rational is mostly used to perform the function of an adjective. It is used to describe anything that is capable of reasoning.

For example, a man is a rational creature. At times, rational is used to describe anything that sounds logical.

For example, John's answers to your questions were quite rational. It can also be used to describe someone that is balanced intellectually.

Rational is also used in mathematics to describe numbers that can be expressed as ratios. On the other hand, rationale means fundamental reasons or explanations of the basis. It means the reasons for something.

At times, questions like "what are the rationales for your actions" are usually asked. In this case, what you are expected to give as answers are your reasons for doing what you did.