rationale

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noun ra·tio·nale \ ˌra-shə-ˈnal \

Definition of rationale

1 :an explanation of controlling principles of opinion, belief, practice, or phenomena

2 :an underlying reason :basis

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rationale was our Word of the Day on 02/27/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of rationale in a Sentence

the rationale for starting the school day an hour later is that kids will supposedly get an extra hour of sleep

Recent Examples of rationale from the Web

Eugenic arguments underlay the rationale behind the Immigration Act of 1924, scholars note.

— harry bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, "Meritocracy and the history of the science of biological differences," 26 Aug. 2017
As reported by Politico’s Nahal Toosi on Wednesday, however, his rationale for declining to spend the counter-propaganda funds Congress allocated appears to be different.

— krishnadev calamur, The Atlantic, "Ignore, but Sanction: The Trump Administration's Strange Russia Policy," 2 Aug. 2017
On the occasion of yet another chunk of international signing bonus slots being traded by the Orioles, executive vice president Dan Duquette explained the rationale behind the team's frequent deals with them.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Dan Duquette explains the Orioles' frequent trades of interational signing bonus slots," 2 Aug. 2017
The rationale of cutting costs makes no sense either.

— anonymous, Harper's BAZAAR, "There Is No Valid Reason to Ban Trans People from the Military," 28 July 2017
And that, in turn, would deprive Trump’s earliest and most vocal supporters of their rationale for supporting his presidency.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "Losing Jeff Sessions Means Losing Immigration Reform with Him," 25 July 2017
So, while, yes, shampooing with CeraVe is generally safe to use, Sadick says there's no real rationale for the 'poo switch-up.

— sarah kinonen, Allure, "People Are Using CeraVe Facial Cleanser as Shampoo, and It's Not Okay," 19 July 2017
Lombardi said that trio has been helping him learn MSU’s concepts and the rationale behind them.

— chris solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State QB Rocky Lombardi raring to master complex offense," 15 July 2017
But another rationale is also clear: The wisdom of keeping director-choreographer Josh Rhodes in the Globe fold.

— james hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Guys and Dolls' a polished retro spectacle at Old Globe," 8 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rationale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The word rationale appeared in the second half of the 17th century, just in time for the Age of Reason. It is based on the Latin ratio, which means "reason," and rationalis, which means "endowed with reason." At first, rationale meant "an explanation of controlling principles" ("a rationale of religious practices," for example), but soon it began to refer to the underlying reason for something (as in "the rationale for her behavior"). The latter meaning is now the most common use of the term. The English word ratio can also mean "underlying reason" (in fact, it had this meaning before rationale did), but in current use, that word more often refers to the relationship (in number, quantity, or degree) between things.