Meaning 1
With sound judgment, fairness, or practical sense.
Reach for it when describing a balanced decision or response that respects the circumstances
The landlord responded reasonably and allowed an extra week for the repair.
Meaning 2
To a moderate or sufficient degree.
Reach for it when making a measured positive claim without implying exceptional quality
The route is reasonably accessible when the lower gate is open.
| Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| everyday | ||
| warm | ||
| professional |
| |
| formal |
everyday
Fits when practical good judgment is central
Careful Sensibly does not always carry the fairness of reasonably.
warm
Fits when impartial treatment is the main praise
Careful Fairly can also mean moderately, creating the same ambiguity.
professional
Fits when evidence and logic guide the action
Careful Rationally can sound clinical where humane fairness matters.
formal
Fits when wise discrimination among options deserves emphasis
Careful Judiciously is more approving and formal than reasonably.
everyday
Fits when a conversational estimate of degree fits
Careful Fairly varies by dialect and can sound stronger or weaker than intended.
everyday
quite
Fits when ordinary emphasis suits the dialect and context
Careful Quite is highly ambiguous across varieties of English.
professional
adequately
Fits when meeting a minimum functional standard is enough
Careful Adequately often sounds faintly critical rather than positive.
professional
Fits when limited degree is the exact meaning
Careful Moderately describes amount and carries no positive evaluation.
formal
tolerably
Fits when acceptable but limited quality is honestly meant
Careful Tolerably sounds grudging and should not replace genuine praise.
act reasonably
Both sides continued to act reasonably while the survey was repeated.
reasonably confident
The engineer was reasonably confident after two independent checks.
reasonably priced
The cooperative kept the winter produce reasonably priced.
reasonably expect
Residents can reasonably expect an answer before the next meeting.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Wodencafe, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated
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