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rationalize

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

ra·tion·al·ize

(răsh'ə-nə-līz') pronunciation

v., -ized, -iz·ing, -iz·es.

v.tr.
  1. To make rational.
  2. To interpret from a rational standpoint.
  3. To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (one's behavior): "Many shoppers still rationalize luxury purchases as investments" (Janice Castro).
  4. Mathematics. To remove radicals, such as from a denominator, without changing the value of (an expression) or roots of (an equation).
  5. Chiefly British. To bring modern, efficient methods to (an industry, for example).
v.intr.
  1. To think in a rational or rationalistic way.
  2. To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for one's behavior.
rationalizer ra'tion·al·iz'er n.

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Roget's Thesaurus:

rationalize

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verb

  1. To show to be just, right, or valid: excuse, justify, vindicate. Idioms: make a case for. See right/wrong.
  2. To offer reasons for or a cause of: account for, explain, justify. See explain/baffle.

Word Tutor:

rationalize

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: To give a seemingly reasonable explanation.

pronunciation When the play was poorly attended, the producer tried to rationalize it by blaming the weather.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'rationalize'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to rationalize, see:

Translations:

Rationalize

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - rationalisere, effektivisere, gøre logisk
v. intr. - optræde rationelt

Nederlands (Dutch)
rationaliseren, efficiënter maken (organisatie)

Français (French)
v. tr. - justifier, (GB, Écon) rationaliser
v. intr. - rationaliser, justifier

Deutsch (German)
v. - rationalisieren, rational begründen, vernünftig bewerten

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - οργανώνω ορθολογικά, εκφράζω λογικά, δίνω λογική εξήγηση

Italiano (Italian)
razionalizzare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - racionalizar

Русский (Russian)
обосновывать, рационализировать, оправдывать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - justificar, racionalizar, reorganizar
v. intr. - justificar, racionalizar, reorganizar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - rationalisera, resonera förståndsmässigt

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
使合理化, 使有理化, 为...找借口, 实行合理化, 作辩解

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使合理化, 使有理化, 為...找藉口
v. intr. - 實行合理化, 作辯解

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 합리화 하다, 설명하다, (수를) 유리화하다
v. intr. - 합리적으로 생각하다, 합리적으로 행하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 論理的に考える, 合理化する, 正当化する, 能率化する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعقلن, يسوغ, يبرر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הסביר על דרך ההיגיון, ארגן מחדש, שכלן, ייעל‬
v. intr. - ‮הסביר את התנהגותו או דעתו בהיגיון, התנהג בהיגיון‬


 
 
Related topics:
casuistry
decision theory (systems engineering)
trigonometric substitutions (mathematics)

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Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
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Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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