Thesaurus results for RATIONALES

rationales

noun

plural of rationale

as in explanations

a statement given to explain a belief or act the rationale for starting the school day an hour later is that kids will supposedly get an extra hour of sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rationales Writers such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson published eloquent ecological and scientific rationales for wilderness preservation, wildlife management, and pollution control, laying the intellectual groundwork for the late 1960s and early ’70s boom in environmental legislation. —

John Reid, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026 The lawsuit also includes a lot of lengthy rationales that this is cultural appropriation of an Indigenous person that has nothing to do with the legality of Right of Publicity. —

Brian Welk, IndieWire, 8 May 2026 Freed from all the entanglements that come with having to launch a ground invasion, air war can overfly not just morality and law but arguments, rationales, the calibration of risks to rewards and of suffering to satisfaction. —

Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026 Investors look for reasons to take profits, even though the rationales may have nothing to do with the market action. —

Michael Hiltzik, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2026 Instead, the White House offered frequently shifting rationales for its war and little outreach to the Iranian resistance. —

Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026 Indeed, that’s one of the main rationales for banks issuing these lifestyle cards. —

Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2026 Among the chief rationales for the lower tax rate on capital gains is to counter the effect of inflation. —

Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026 Meanwhile, as the military operation continues, the Administration has offered, what appear to be, differing rationales for the initial strikes, prompting further confusion and demands from Congress for answers. —

Tiago Ventura, Time, 10 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rationales

Noun

Use clear headings, concise explanations and logical formatting.

— Jeremy Fields, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
All 48 national team coaches were involved in a workshop to detail the law changes — which for the World Cup also includes a three-minute cooling break 22 minutes into each half — and every player will receive the same explanations before the tournament starts on June 11.

— Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 31 May 2026