racionaliai

Racionaliai is a Lithuanian adverb meaning “in a rational or reasonable manner,” used to describe actions, decisions, or analyses guided by reason, evidence, and careful consideration. It is the adverbial form derived from the adjective racionalus (rational) and is formed with the suffix -iai, a common pattern for adverbs in Lithuanian.

In usage, racionaliai often appears in contexts involving decision-making, problem solving, or methodological description. Examples include "Priėmė sprendimą racionaliai" (They/one made the decision rationally) and "Analizuodami duomenis, jie elgėsi racionaliai" (While analyzing the data, they behaved rationally). The term conveys a deliberate, evidence-based approach rather than impulsive or emotional action.

Racionaliai is frequently contrasted with terms that emphasize different aspects of thinking. It is related to, but distinct from, logiškai (logically) and emociškai (emotionally). While racionaliai highlights reasoning and evidence, logiškai stresses internal logical coherence, and emociškai refers to actions influenced by emotions. In practice, the meanings overlap in many contexts, and speakers choose based on the nuance they wish to convey.

Etymology and form: racionaliai comes from the adjective racionalus (rational), itself derived from Latin rationalis, through the common European pattern of borrowing and adapting academic and philosophical vocabulary. The noun form is racionalumas (rationality).