rationalize

Berlin aims to rationalize burdensome data-protection regulations, freeing small businesses from the costliest strictures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

“In all of the history of money bail there has never been an attempt to rationalize the money amounts. The money amounts of the bonds are literally picked out of the air.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

"Our findings allowed us to rationalize the critical role of engineering the hydrogen-bond network at the catalyst/electrolyte interface in designing high-efficiency, low-cost AEMWEs," Wu said.

From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026

“We will absolutely have to rationalize the overall corporate overhead of the company,” Ellison said after being asked about the possibility of layoffs.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 7, 2026

This lady’s grandson might be facing life imprisonment without parole, but given the overwhelming number of death penalty cases on our docket, I couldn’t rationalize taking on his case.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Kane, who declined to disclose his average earnings, rationalizes that big losses are just part of the job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

“Barbarian” systematically rationalizes questionable character decisions, dismantling defenses with logic, an appeal to humanity and the promise of unearthing mysteries.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2022

Francis just barely refrains from calling her crazy, though he refers to her experiences as “a fantasy” and capably rationalizes this stranger’s behavior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022

Irene compartmentalizes and rationalizes her act; she needs to cool down, the tearoom is a breezy refuge, if one she intentionally seeks out rather than merely happens upon.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021

It annoys my father no end, but he rationalizes it by saying, “We live in a service economy. We all have to feed it somehow.”

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

“As flows started to reverse and markets rationalized, those spectacular numbers fell into more modest territory. Then the 2022 bear market hit,” Bespoke added, noting that many investors were now stuck with “deeply underwater positions.”

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

Schools and universities should be places where prejudice is confronted, not rationalized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025

“We rationalized that if this area were to burn, the whole town would burn,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025

On Thursday, the State Department announced it would review the legal status of immigrants who praised, rationalized or made light of Kirk’s death.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2025

If the price of dog food and cake mix can be rationalized, why can’t some sort of rough “safety index” be devised which allows us to gauge how safe various activities, procedures, and illnesses are?

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

“We’ve probably done more rationalizing the supply chain, for example shutting down plants rather than investing in creating a new manufacturing footprint,” McNamara said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

The agency describes the move as "a step forward in rationalizing its use and promoting its safe and responsible use."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026

I'm a lot better now at rationalizing facts and reminding myself of what those things are, and that helps me not get ahead of myself and have a super emotional reaction to a thing.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2025

In rationalizing the closing of his shop, Tolliver reminded me he’d scaled back to working part time and was only cutting the hair of a core group of customers and friends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

It is only in so far as things have been transferred from the mores into laws and positive institutions that there is discussion about them or rationalizing upon them.

From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham