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rationalization
[ rash-uh-nl-ahy-zey-shuhn, rash-nl- ]
noun
- the act or process of ascribing one’s actions, opinions, etc., to causes that seem reasonable and valid but are actually unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less complimentary ones:
Those who torture prisoners believe, in their loftiest rationalizations, that they are committing their deeds for the good of the nation.
- the act or process of making something conformable to reason or to the principle that reason is the highest authority for truth:
In conceiving the world as a Newtonian universe governed by natural laws, Taylor provided the conceptual framework for the rationalization of the world in the 20th century.
- Chiefly British. the act or process of reorganizing and integrating an industry, company, etc., to make it more efficient and profitable:
The film studios were able to achieve such remarkable production figures through a rationalization of their working practices.
- Mathematics. the act or process of eliminating radicals from an equation or expression:
Rationalization will make calculation easier, as the denominator will now be an integer instead of a radical.
Other 51Թ Forms
- ԴDz··پDz····پDz especially British, ԴDz··پDz····پDz noun
- ···پDz····پDz especially British, ···پDz····پDz noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of rationalization1
Example Sentences
In a second story from the BBC about Trump’s tariff regime, his supporters shared similar rationalizations and motivations, like this from A 71-year-old woman from Michigan who supports Trump:
It is, in effect, a plan for the rationalization of the American social and political order based on an unwavering faith in modern technology and AI to eliminate inefficiency and waste.
Taken together, these various Trumpian hot takes weren’t serious rationalizations; they were desperate attempts to throw rhetorical spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks.
Most everyone has, at one point or another, tied themselves in rationalization knots to avoid uttering the phrase, "I was wrong."
The truth is that Trump’s rationalizations don’t stand up to scrutiny.
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