rationalize
English
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Alternative forms
[edit]- rationalise (non-Oxford British English)
Etymology
[edit]From French rationaliser. By surface analysis, rational + -ize.
Pronunciation
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Audio (Southern England): (file)
Verb
[edit]rationalize (third-person singular simple present rationalizes, present participle rationalizing, simple past and past participle rationalized) (American spelling, Oxford British English)
- To make something rational or more rational.
- To justify a discreditable act, or irrational behaviour.
- 1987, “Exhuming McCarthy”, in Document (R.E.M. No. 5), performed by R.E.M.:
- Vested interest, united ties, / landed gentry, rationalize. / Look who bought the myth. / By jingo, buy America.
- (mathematics) To remove radicals, without changing the value of an expression or the roots of an equation.
- To structure something along modern, efficient and systematic lines, or according to scientific principles. This often includes eliminating duplication and grouping like or similar items.
- 2024 11, Sally Jane Gellert, “Report from the Chair”, in Lackawanna Coalition Railgram:
- At our October meeting, Membership Director George Kaufer suggested rationalizing schedules on the Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton trains. He had prepared peak-hour schedules with a focus on ensuring that trains to Hoboken alternate more equally with those to New York, rather than having a number of trains to one destination together before a train to the other city.
Hyponyms
[edit]- euhemerize (myth & popular beliefs)
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to make something rational
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to justify negative behaviour
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math: to remove radicals
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to structure along systematic lines
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References
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Anagrams
[edit]French
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]rationalize
- inflection of rationaliser: