Synonyms of 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

• explanations
• reasons
• arguments
• justifications
• apologies
• accountings
• excuses
• cases
• accounts
• defenses
• alibis
• rationalizations
• appeals
• pretexts
• vindications
• pleas
• pretenses
• apologiae
• guises

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rationales

For Mary Kay, the latter of these rationales seems to have been clothed in the guise of the former, though the precise catalyst for establishing her own outfit remains indeterminate. — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 15 July 2026

Americans heard much more forthright rationales from generals involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. — Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026

State legislators have various rationales for getting involved in national security policy. — Max Grinstein, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026

That, together with preemptive blocking and generalized rationales, suggests that the volunteer community is increasingly prioritizing prevention, efficiency and content quality over efforts to rehabilitate new users. — Ryan McGrady, The Conversation, 25 June 2026

Cicero has been my nemesis in this book, for unconscionably grasping for elder power and offering up rationales for doing so repeated over the centuries. — Literary Hub, 18 June 2026

Transparency mechanisms such as feature attribution logging and traceable alert rationales are becoming standard components in pharmacy AI platforms. — Ethan Stone june 3, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 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