rationalize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The salt association was thus a classic example of an effort by producers to rationalize the methods of production, and, more important, marketing,” Page Smith writes External link in The Rise of Industrial America.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

Dahlia Lithwick: There is a very human propensity, especially in times of crisis, to normalize and rationalize and temporize.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2025

They rationalize this otherwise contradictory behavior by telling themselves that even though the bubble assets they’re investing in are grossly overvalued, they will know when to get out — just before the bubble bursts.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025

This is what makes true high-speed expensive and hard to rationalize in a country whose weblike intercity travel patterns make it better suited to air transport.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Confronted with the new fact—that his company was effectively long $50 billion in triple-B subprime mortgage bonds, masquerading as triple-A-rated diversified pools of consumer loans—Cassano at first sought to rationalize it.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis