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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Recent Examples of rationalize
One attempt to rationalize sports viewing, Venu, a streaming sports joint venture of Disney, Fox and WBD and meant to launch this fall, was blocked in a lawsuit by rival Fubo and is heading to trial.
—
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2024
Instead of rationalizing it, seeing it from his shoes and changing your tactics with him.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
In our post-Covid era, many health systems are rationalizing episodic investments.
—Corey Scurlock, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
For a movie centered on the irrational, his version of the tale is substantially rationalized, with many exchanges and set pieces dramatically expanded to furnish the plot with more specific exposition and the characters with more explicit motives.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rationalize 
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2024
Instead of rationalizing it, seeing it from his shoes and changing your tactics with him.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
In our post-Covid era, many health systems are rationalizing episodic investments.
—Corey Scurlock, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
For a movie centered on the irrational, his version of the tale is substantially rationalized, with many exchanges and set pieces dramatically expanded to furnish the plot with more specific exposition and the characters with more explicit motives.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rationalize
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Cite this Entry
“Rationalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rationalize. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
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