Definition of Rationalize

• defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the childs seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"
• weed out unwanted or unnecessary things; "We had to lose weight, so we cut the sugar from our diet"
• structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results; "We rationalized the factorys production and raised profits"