RATIONALIZATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does rationalization mean? 

• RATIONALIZATION (noun)
  The noun RATIONALIZATION has 5 senses:

1. the cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason

2. (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening

3. (mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation

4. the organization of a business according to scientific principles of management in order to increase efficiency

5. systematic organization; the act of organizing something according to a system or a rationale

  Familiarity information: RATIONALIZATION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RATIONALIZATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

rationalisation; rationalization

Hypernyms ("rationalization" is a kind of...):

explanation (thought that makes something comprehensible)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rationalization"):

raison d'etre (reason for being)

Derivation:

rationalize (defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

rationalisation; rationalization

Hypernyms ("rationalization" is a kind of...):

defence; defence mechanism; defence reaction; defense; defense mechanism; defense reaction ((psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires)

Domain category:

psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

rationalisation; rationalization

Hypernyms ("rationalization" is a kind of...):

simplification (elimination of superfluous details)

Domain category:

math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)

Derivation:

rationalize (remove irrational quantities from)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The organization of a business according to scientific principles of management in order to increase efficiency

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

rationalisation; rationalization

Hypernyms ("rationalization" is a kind of...):

organisation; organization (the act of organizing a business or an activity related to a business)

Derivation:

rationalize (structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Systematic organization; the act of organizing something according to a system or a rationale

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

rationalisation; rationalization; systematisation; systematization

Hypernyms ("rationalization" is a kind of...):

organisation; organization (the activity or result of distributing or disposing persons or things properly or methodically)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rationalization"):

codification (the act of codifying; arranging in a systematic order)

formalisation; formalization (the act of making formal (as by stating formal rules governing classes of expressions))

Derivation:

rationalize (think rationally; employ logic or reason)