Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Absence or lack of reason; irrationality.
  • noun Nonsense; absurdity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To prove to be unreasonable; disprove by argument.
  • noun Lack of reason; unreasonableness; irrationality; nonsense; folly; absurdity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Want of reason; unreasonableness; absurdity.
  • noun See Abbot of Misrule, under Abbot.
  • transitive verb obsolete To undo, disprove, or refute by reasoning.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Lack of reason or rationality; unreasonableness; irrationality.
  • noun Nonsense; folly; absurdity.
  • verb transitive, rare To prove to be unreasonable; disprove by argument.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the state of being irrational; lacking powers of understanding

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From un- +‎ reason.

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Examples

  • Or again, the term unreason is sometimes used rather more reasonably; for a sort of loose or elliptical statement, which is at least illogical in form.

    Vintage Distributism Richard Aleman 2007

  • Or again, the term unreason is sometimes used rather more reasonably; for a sort of loose or elliptical statement, which is at least illogical in form.

    G.K. Speaks - Reflections on a Rotten Apple 2007

  • Or again, the term unreason is sometimes used rather more reasonably; for a sort of loose or elliptical statement, which is at least illogical in form.

    Archive 2007-07-01 Kelly M. 2007

  • And anomalies accustom the mind to the idea of unreason and untruth.

    All Things Considered 1905

  • For in the postmodern age of unreason, that is all that matters.

    Cranmer 2010

  • Act then, my child, in conformity with justice and duty, regardless of any ulterior object, without considering whether your action will bring you pleasure or pain, without fear of the judgment of men or the envy of the gods, and you will win that peace of mind which distinguishes the wise from the unwise, and may be happy even in adverse circumstances; for the only real evil is the dominion of wickedness, that is to say the unreason which rebels against nature, and the only true happiness consists in the possession of virtue.

    The Sisters — Volume 3 Georg Ebers 1867

  • Act then, my child, in conformity with justice and duty, regardless of any ulterior object, without considering whether your action will bring you pleasure or pain, without fear of the judgment of men or the envy of the gods, and you will win that peace of mind which distinguishes the wise from the unwise, and may be happy even in adverse circumstances; for the only real evil is the dominion of wickedness, that is to say the unreason which rebels against nature, and the only true happiness consists in the possession of virtue.

    The Sisters — Volume 3 Georg Ebers 1867

  • Act then, my child, in conformity with justice and duty, regardless of any ulterior object, without considering whether your action will bring you pleasure or pain, without fear of the judgment of men or the envy of the gods, and you will win that peace of mind which distinguishes the wise from the unwise, and may be happy even in adverse circumstances; for the only real evil is the dominion of wickedness, that is to say the unreason which rebels against nature, and the only true happiness consists in the possession of virtue.

    The Sisters — Volume 3 Georg Ebers 1867

  • Act then, my child, in conformity with justice and duty, regardless of any ulterior object, without considering whether your action will bring you pleasure or pain, without fear of the judgment of men or the envy of the gods, and you will win that peace of mind which distinguishes the wise from the unwise, and may be happy even in adverse circumstances; for the only real evil is the dominion of wickedness, that is to say the unreason which rebels against nature, and the only true happiness consists in the possession of virtue.

    The Sisters — Complete Georg Ebers 1867

  • Act then, my child, in conformity with justice and duty, regardless of any ulterior object, without considering whether your action will bring you pleasure or pain, without fear of the judgment of men or the envy of the gods, and you will win that peace of mind which distinguishes the wise from the unwise, and may be happy even in adverse circumstances; for the only real evil is the dominion of wickedness, that is to say the unreason which rebels against nature, and the only true happiness consists in the possession of virtue.

    Complete Project Gutenberg Georg Ebers Works Georg Ebers 1867

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