rationalization
Americannoun
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the act or process of ascribing one’s actions, opinions, etc., to causes that seem reasonable and valid but are actually unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less complimentary ones.
Those who torture prisoners believe, in their loftiest rationalizations, that they are committing their deeds for the good of the nation.
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the act or process of making something conformable to reason or to the principle that reason is the highest authority for truth.
In conceiving the world as a Newtonian universe governed by natural laws, Taylor provided the conceptual framework for the rationalization of the world in the 20th century.
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Chiefly British. the act or process of reorganizing and integrating an industry, company, etc., to make it more efficient and profitable.
The film studios were able to achieve such remarkable production figures through a rationalization of their working practices.
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Mathematics. the act or process of eliminating radicals from an equation or expression.
Rationalization will make calculation easier, as the denominator will now be an integer instead of a radical.
Other Word Forms
- nonrationalization noun
- overrationalization noun
Etymology
Origin of rationalization
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.
Compartmentalization, after all, is a pretty good synonym for rationalization, the act of setting aside, or even tucking away, whatever we find morally troubling.
From Los Angeles Times
Or are they just intellectually dishonest partisan actors and there is no need for rationalization on their part?
From Salon
Trump's strategy is to toss off a bunch of excuses, which often contradict each other, just so his followers can grab onto whichever rationalization tickles their fancy.
From Salon
We don’t know; he’s tried before, then gone shopping for rationalizations to back out.
From New York Times
This strain of rationalization feels familiar because it is universal: It’s how power corrupts and how the powerful sleep at night.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
