rationalization

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˌræʃənələˈzeɪʃən/ UK /ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the act of justifying behavior with plausible but specious reasons

His excuse was a transparent rationalization of his own laziness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of justifying... justification excuse explanation vindication extenuation

Word family

Related forms rationalize rational rationale reason

Etymology

From rationalize + -ation; rationalize from rational + -ize, from Latin rationalis ('of reason'), from ratio ('reckoning, reason').

rationalis Latin ratio Latin

View etymology graph ->

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Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

# rationalization

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌræʃənələˈzeɪʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃən

## Meanings
1. the act of justifying behavior with plausible but specious reasons

## Examples
- His excuse was a transparent rationalization of his own laziness.

## Synonyms
- justification
- excuse
- explanation
- vindication
- extenuation

## Related Forms
- rationalize
- rational
- rationale
- reason

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rationalis
- Root: ratio

## Etymology
From rationalize + -ation; rationalize from rational + -ize, from Latin rationalis ('of reason'), from ratio ('reckoning, reason').

## AI Etymology
Rationalization comes from rationalize + -ation; rationalize from rational + -ize, from Latin rationalis ('of reason'), from ratio ('reckoning, reason'). The historical chain includes Latin rationalis and Latin ratio. Older glosses in the chain include "of reason" and "reckoning, reason", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rationalization is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the act of justifying behavior with plausible but specious reasons". related forms include rationalize, rational, rationale, and reason. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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rationalization

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