Basic Details
Word: Reasonable
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Fair and sensible, or not too expensive. A reasonable person listens and judges fairly.
Synonyms: fair, sensible, moderate
Antonyms: unfair, excessive, absurd
How to Spell Reasonable
Syllables: rea - son - a - ble
Tricky part: The ending is able, not ible. A complete word, reason, comes before it, and a whole word in front usually takes able.
Watch out for: reasonible, resonable, reasonabel
Memory tip: You are able to see the reason: reason + able. A whole word in front often signals able rather than ible.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Five hundred rupees is a reasonable price for these shoes.
Example 2: Our class monitor is calm and reasonable.
Example 3: The teacher gave us a reasonable amount of homework.
Fun Fact
Courts in many countries use the idea of a reasonable person - an imaginary, sensible adult - to judge whether someone acted carefully.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
reasonnable
a) s
b) n
c) a
d) b
Show answer
b) n. Reason has one n, and adding able does not double it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word 'reasonable' as used in the sentence:
The weaver asked a reasonable price for the hand-woven shawl from Kullu.
a) sensible
b) excessive
c) moderate
d) fair
Show answer
b) excessive. A reasonable price is fair; an excessive one is far too high.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the correctly spelt word:
1. terrable 2. possable 3. reasonable 4. responsable
a) fair and sensible
b) very bad or unpleasant
c) having a duty to deal with something
d) able to happen or be done
Show answer
a) fair and sensible. Responsible, possible and terrible all end in ible, so reasonable is the only one spelt right here.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A reasonable request is one that is ____.
a) impossible to meet
b) rude and very loud
c) made in secret
d) fair and easy to accept
Show answer
d) fair and easy to accept
2. A reasonable thing to do in heavy monsoon rain is to ____.
a) fly a kite in the thunder
b) sleep out on the roof
c) walk barefoot through floods
d) carry an umbrella
Show answer
d) carry an umbrella
