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Glite Dictionary
to rationalize away

to rationalize away

1 7.9
Try to explain strange events with normal reasons to dismiss other ideas
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈræʃənəˌlaɪz əˈweɪ/
  • US
translation icon : racionalizar
  • Objections to team composition were rationalized away as an exercise in 21st-century job skills that future employers will be looking for and are nonnegotiable.

They they, they rationalize away the problem.

Examples

  • People often try to rationalize away their mistakes by blaming others.

  • No wonder people can rationalize away almost any behavior.

    Blog text (21)

  • They they, they rationalize away the problem.

    Film Courage

  • Probably not, was the conclusion Smith invariably came to, but it always made him feel better to rationalize away the alternatives.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Humans have a nearly infinite capacity to rationalize away any evidence that doesn't fit their worldview.

    Blog text (27)

  • We could be soon facing a sudden and unavoidable clarification of the reality of the unconstitutional regime we live under, that the subjects can no longer rationalize away.

    Blog text (15)

  • Students expect to find results that confirm their initial beliefs and are accustomed to rationalizing away results that do not conform (e.g., "I made a mistake" or "the equipment did not work").

    Academic text (1994)

  • It's common for individuals to rationalize away their fears with logical reasons.

  • After the incident, she attempted to rationalize away her feelings of guilt by focusing on her intentions.

Synonyms

to explain
vsto rationalize away
∞ 1.0

To show why something happened

focuses on rejecting other explanations by supplying logical or natural reasons
to excuse
vsto rationalize away
178 2.5

Try to explain a mistake to make it seem less serious

applies logic to deny alternative causes rather than merely defend personal errors
to rationalize
vsto rationalize away
  • US
64 6.4

Give untrue reasons to explain your actions

tends to dismiss other explanations by giving logical justifications for events
to reason out
vsto rationalize away
3 4.8

To think carefully to find an answer to a problem

uses logic to replace supernatural or unusual explanations with natural ones
to naturalize
vsto rationalize away
  • US
1 6.7

To explain something by nature or science instead of by magic

focuses on dismissing alternative explanations by offering logical natural reasons
to interpret away
vsto rationalize away
  • Informal
8.0

To say problems or criticism are not serious by changing their meaning

does this by offering natural or logical causes to remove alternative explanations

How Convincing

to rationalize away
  • US
1 7.9
to attribute
228 3.8
to suggest
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

rationalize away infinitive
rationalized away past
rationalized away past participle
rationalizing away present participle
rationalizes away third person singular

Morphology

rationalize + away

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'rationalize' (to offer justifications) with the particle 'away' (to remove or dismiss): together they convey explaining something so as to dismiss or eliminate it. The verb + away construction commonly signals removal or diminution in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a learner who knows both constituents should infer the intended sense.

Etymology

Rationalize away comes from the simple image of using rationalize (making a reason) to push something away. One popular picture is covering a strange event with a neat, logical story so it seems to disappear, which is why the phrase means 'to explain' or 'dismiss' something unusual.