Word family noun rationality ≠ irrationality rationale rationalism rationalist rationalization adjective rational ≠ irrational rationalist verb rationalize adverb rationally ≠ irrationally
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrationalizera‧tion‧al‧ize (also rationalise British English) /ˈræʃənəlaɪz/ AWL verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 REASONif you rationalize behaviour that is wrong, you invent an explanation for it so that it does not seem as bad When he fouls up, Glen always finds a way to rationalize what he’s done.2 British EnglishEFFICIENT to make a business more effective by removing unnecessary workers, equipment etc Our systems will be rationalized over the coming months. —rationalization /ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃən $ -lə-/ noun [countable, uncountable] a major rationalization of the aircraft industry→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
rationalize• Whining is a form of rationalizing.• The Social Security system needs to be rationalized.• Since the administrative side of the business has been rationalized, all departments have become more efficient.• It is still rationalized by an elaborate and traditional, even if meretricious, theory of consumer demand.• Glen tries to rationalize his drinking by saying he deserves a beer after a hard day.• We are a small company, and we need to rationalize if we want to compete in this market.• Like Nietzsche, Feuerbach frequently shows more sympathy for orthodox believers than for rationalizing modernist theologians.• Abstract internationalism had a strong role to play in rationalizing much more sinister forces than appeared in the rhetoric of Petrograd.• The company has done a lot to rationalize production.• I was rationalizing that I had mainly young reps and so they needed me...• Repeated attempts were made to rationalize the system.• The budget proposed selling off $1,300 million worth of state-run enterprises and rationalizing the tax structure.• You can try to rationalize your low weight loss.From Longman Business Dictionaryrationalizera‧tion‧al‧ize /ˈræʃənəlaɪz/ (also rationalise British English) verb [intransitive, transitive]COMMERCE to make a business or organization more effective by getting rid of unnecessary staff, equipment etc, or reorganizing its structureThe company has been taking steps to rationalize its printing operations. —rationalization (also rationalisation British English) noun [countable, uncountable]We shall press ahead with our rationalization and cost-reduction program.→ See Verb table 