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is rationalizing

  • present progressive
    of rationalize (3rd person singular).
    rationalize
    verb (used with object)
    to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“What I decided, and some people say this is rationalizing, but I decided that that time dancing was to give me the perspective to be a good patron of dance and patron of the arts.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2021

I followed the “Rosemary’s Baby”-“Stepford Wives” model of inching into this crazy situation and alongside, justifying how the character is rationalizing staying.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2017

At least one customer is rationalizing the spending as the price of returning to innocence.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2015

But old Author Wells is rationalizing long after the fact of young Author Wells.

From Time Magazine Archive

Refusing to see what he is passing judgment on, his method of inquiry is rationalizing.

From The Church, the Schools and Evolution by J. E. (Judson Eber) Conant