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[ verb ] defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
Synonyms Examples "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior" "he rationalized his lack of success" Used in print (Tristram P. Coffin, "Folklore in the American Twentieth...)1 ) Every age rewrites the events of its history in_terms_of what should have been , creating legends about itself that rationalize contemporary beliefs and excuse contemporary actions . (Max F. Millikan and Donald L. M. Blackmer,...)Nevertheless , impulses still exist among the ruling elite to rationalize and thus to perpetuate the need for centralized and authoritarian practices . Related terms defend plead extenuate color justification apology rationalization apologist apology justification |
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[ verb ] weed out unwanted or unnecessary things
Synonyms Examples "We had to lose weight, so we cut the sugar from our diet" Used in print (Brainard Cheney, "Christianity and the Tragic Vision-Ut...)We will recall that the still confident liberals of the Truman administration gathered with other Western utopians in San_Francisco to set_up the legal framework , finally and at_last , to rationalize war - to rationalize want and fear - out of the world : the United_Nations . We will recall that the still confident liberals of the Truman administration gathered with other Western utopians in San_Francisco to set_up the legal framework , finally and at_last , to rationalize war - to rationalize want and fear - out of the world : the United_Nations . |
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[ verb ] think rationally; employ reason
Synonyms Examples "When one wonders why one is doing certain things, one should rationalize" Related terms |
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[ verb ] structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results
Synonyms Examples "We rationalized the factory's production and raised profits" Related terms |
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[ verb ] remove irrational qualities from, as in math
Synonyms Examples "This function can be rationalized" Related terms |
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