Thesaurus results for RATIONALIZED

rationalized

verb

past tense of rationalize

as in explained

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rationalized At a time when antisemitism is too often minimized, rationalized or repackaged in more socially acceptable language, this kind of moral clarity matters. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2026 Jones’s ever more abusive and erratic behavior was ignored or rationalized by people who should have looked harder. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 After decades of disappointing share price performance, Amanda Blanc rationalized Aviva to focus on just a few key areas of strength. — Ian King, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026 These activists have rationalized Hamas’ terrorist attacks and embraced outright antisemitism. — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2026 Given the extent to which this entire offense is slumping, the manager could have rationalized benching any one of several hitters. — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 24 May 2026 Of those seven losses, setbacks against Dallas and Chicago (while both were still trying to win) and Milwaukee could at least be rationalized. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026 Each lie is rationalized as politics. — Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026 Society has rationalized the human into triviality, and we’re stuck in a bad game. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rationalized

Verb

Unlike Anthropic, which gets a higher share of its revenues from enterprises, OpenAI is more popular among individual consumers, explained Ujjwal Chaudhry, a partner at market intelligence firm Analysys Mason.

— Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Owning a cat comes with several costs, Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert with NerdWallet, explained.

— Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of explained

Verb

Dedicated reconstruction funds are common in postconflict states, and a sovereign wealth fund may be justified to streamline the management of fragmented, distressed, and historically poorly managed public assets.

— Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
Chami noted that the price for working with content creators varies from $250-$1,000 per post, and justified rates that are on the higher end of the spectrum.

— Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of justified

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“Rationalized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rationalized. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of rationalized

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