rationale

[rash-uh-nal]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rationale ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something.

a statement of reasons.

a reasoned exposition of principles.

Nearby words

Origin of rationale

1650–60; < Latin: neuter of ratiōnālis rational

SYNONYMS FOR rationale

1. logic, basis, grounds.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rationale ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rationale

But fishing for rationale in harassment is almost always a waste of time.
A Female Writer’s New Milestone: Her First Death Threat|Annie Gaus|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rationale in those cases, he said, is that DNA should be used to identify the assailant.
How the U.S. Ended Up With 400,000 Untested Rape Kits|Caitlin Dickson|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What was your rationale behind ending Rilo Kiley and moving on to the next phase of your career?
Jenny Lewis on 'The Voyager,' the End of Rilo Kiley, and High School Classmate Angelina Jolie|Marlow Stern|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rationale for the 5,000-mile transfer seems to be two-fold.
Emory Will Wage High-Tech War on Ebola|Kent Sepkowitz|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Minnesota cited the risk of “hormone disruption” from triclosan as the rationale for its action.
Antibacterial Soap’s Deadly Secret|Kent Sepkowitz|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The student who would understand the rationale of the unfoldment of his own possibilities must make no mistake here.
The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science|Thomas Troward
Both of them outline the intentions and rationale which lie behind the translations.
Prefaces to Terence's Comedies and Plautus's Comedies (1694)|Lawrence Echard
The weight of human authority is always powerless, and ought to be, where the intelligence is denied a rationale.
Natural Law in the Spiritual World|Henry Drummond
What is learned should be learned much later than now, as a synthesis and rationale of habits, not as their creator.
The Psychology of Arithmetic|Edward L. Thorndike
There are circumstances which this rationale of the vestments, though correct as far as it goes, does not account for.
Rites and Ritual|Philip Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for rationale

rationale

noun

a reasoned exposition, esp one defining the fundamental reasons for a course of action, belief, etc

Word Origin for rationale

C17: from New Latin, from Latin ratiōnālis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rationale

rationale

1650s, "exposition of principles," from Late Latin rationale, noun use of neuter of Latin rationalis "of reason" (see rational). Hence, "fundamental reason" (1680s).