as in to explain
to give the reason for or cause of
rationalized his decision to buy the new car by noting that it was more fuel efficient than his old vehicle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rationalize
Find another scapegoat to rationalize your assault on the crown jewels of American progress — our colleges and universities that until now have attracted the best and the brightest from our country and all over the world.
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Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2025
Clearly the request — which must have originated in City Hall — uses the fires as a smokescreen to rationalize a bailout for a deficit that is fundamentally the result of years-long fiscal malpractice.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025
Under the Trump administration, the American corporate leadership paradigm has shifted from setting and achieving progressively higher targets to rationalizing or reducing them altogether.
—Paul Klein, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
This, too, is abetted by supporters — critics would deride them as useful idiots — who downplay or else rationalize questionable decision-making as five-dimensional chess.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rationalize
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2025
Clearly the request — which must have originated in City Hall — uses the fires as a smokescreen to rationalize a bailout for a deficit that is fundamentally the result of years-long fiscal malpractice.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025
Under the Trump administration, the American corporate leadership paradigm has shifted from setting and achieving progressively higher targets to rationalizing or reducing them altogether.
—Paul Klein, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
This, too, is abetted by supporters — critics would deride them as useful idiots — who downplay or else rationalize questionable decision-making as five-dimensional chess.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rationalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rationalize
Verb
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The reason for the independence, the Brookings Institution explains, is that politicians tend to want lower interest rates because lower rates stimulate the economy.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
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If yes, please explain: Only at the misdemeanor level.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The myth that trans women are a danger to cis women is a grossly transphobic stereotype with almost no real-world justification, but Rowling pins most of her anti-trans arguments on it, using her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse to justify her prejudice.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
18 Apr. 2025
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The funding freezes and cuts have been imposed before the completion of full investigations, and different legal rationales have been offered to justify them.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rationalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rationalize. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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