rationalize

American  

[rash-uh-nl-ahyz, rash-nl-ahyz] / ˈræʃ ə nlˌaɪz, ˈræʃ nlˌaɪz /

especially British, rationalise

verb (used with object)

• rationalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rationalized,
  past participle,  past
• rationalizing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to remove unreasonable elements from.

3. to make rational or conformable to reason.

4. to treat or explain in a rational or rationalistic manner.

5. Mathematics. to eliminate radicals from (an equation or expression).

   to rationalize the denominator of a fraction.

6. Chiefly British. to reorganize and integrate (an industry).

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verb (used without object)

• rationalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rationalized,
  past participle,  past
• rationalizing
  present participle

1. to invent plausible explanations for acts, opinions, etc., that are actually based on other causes.

   He tried to prove that he was not at fault, but he was obviously rationalizing.

2. to employ reason; think in a rational or rationalistic manner.

rationalize British  

/ ˈræʃənəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to justify (one's actions, esp discreditable actions, or beliefs) with plausible reasons, esp after the event

2. psychol to indulge, often unchallenged, in excuses for or explanations of (behaviour about which one feels uncomfortable or guilty)

3. to apply logic or reason to (something)

4. to eliminate unnecessary equipment, personnel, or processes from (a group of businesses, factory, etc), in order to make it more efficient

5. (tr) maths to eliminate one or more radicals without changing the value of (an expression) or the roots of (an equation)

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Usage

Although rationalize retains its principal 19th-century senses “to make conformable to reason” and “to treat in a rational manner,” 20th-century psychology has given it the now more common meaning “to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that seem reasonable but actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious causes.” Although the possibility of ambiguity exists, the context will usually make clear which sense is intended.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rationalization
  noun
• rationalizer
  noun
• overrationalize
  verb
• nonrationalized
  adjective
• semirationalized
  adjective
• unrationalized
  adjective
• unrationalizing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• rationalizing
  present
• rationalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rationalize
  simple
• rationalizes
  simple
• have rationalized
  perfect
• has rationalized
  perfect
• am rationalizing
  progressive
• are rationalizing
  progressive
• is rationalizing
  progressive
• have been rationalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been rationalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• rationalized
  simple
• had rationalized
  perfect
• was rationalizing
  progressive
• were rationalizing
  progressive
• had been rationalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rationalize
  simple
• will have rationalized
  perfect
• will be rationalizing
  progressive
• will have been rationalizing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of rationalize

First recorded in 1810–20; rational + -ize

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Explanation

Rationalize means to justify by developing a rationale, or a set of reasons for something. You could rationalize cutting school, saying your classes are boring, but you are still doing what you shouldn't be doing. Rationalize can also mean reorganizing along rational lines––a watchmaker's shop might be set up in a totally illogical way that made sense only to the old owner, whose children will rationalize the shop's organization once the old man dies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rationalize rationalizes rationalized rationalizing

“In all of the history of money bail there has never been an attempt to rationalize the money amounts. The money amounts of the bonds are literally picked out of the air.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

"Our findings allowed us to rationalize the critical role of engineering the hydrogen-bond network at the catalyst/electrolyte interface in designing high-efficiency, low-cost AEMWEs," Wu said.

From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026

“We will absolutely have to rationalize the overall corporate overhead of the company,” Ellison said after being asked about the possibility of layoffs.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 7, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins in a presentation mostly aimed at showing that the agencies would harmonize their rules to promote cryptocurrency innovation and rationalize margin collateral requirements in securities markets.

From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026

They discounted the boy’s protests for their impracticality and sought to rationalize expenditure.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Kane, who declined to disclose his average earnings, rationalizes that big losses are just part of the job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

But if she came out before, Berry rationalizes, surely she could again.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022

Francis just barely refrains from calling her crazy, though he refers to her experiences as “a fantasy” and capably rationalizes this stranger’s behavior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022

Irene compartmentalizes and rationalizes her act; she needs to cool down, the tearoom is a breezy refuge, if one she intentionally seeks out rather than merely happens upon.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021

It annoys my father no end, but he rationalizes it by saying, “We live in a service economy. We all have to feed it somehow.”

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

These cuts, once made, tend to be rationalized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Unilateral action can be rationalized as acting because it is too cumbersome to mobilize allies whose interests do not align with one’s own.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

And refining capacity is being rationalized globally, not just in the U.S.

From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026

“We rationalized that if this area were to burn, the whole town would burn,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025

No matter how many times he rationalized it, explained that he didn’t mind the discipline.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

It included shrinking state-owned companies; cutting government bureaucracy; creating a private housing market; and rationalizing public finances in a way that allowed Beijing to function as a modern state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The agency describes the move as "a step forward in rationalizing its use and promoting its safe and responsible use."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026

I'm a lot better now at rationalizing facts and reminding myself of what those things are, and that helps me not get ahead of myself and have a super emotional reaction to a thing.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2025

In rationalizing the closing of his shop, Tolliver reminded me he’d scaled back to working part time and was only cutting the hair of a core group of customers and friends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Hypocrisies are lighter or more grave in the measure of the confirmation against God and of the outward rationalizing in favor of God.

From Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence by William F. Wunsch

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