The Only Use of
rationalize
in
Fahrenheit 451
- My uncle says the architects got rid of the front porches because they didn't look well. But my uncle says that was merely rationalizing it; the real reason, hidden underneath, might be they didn't want people sitting like that, doing nothing, rocking, talking; that was the wrong kind of social life.
p. 60.7rationalizing = using reason to make an excuse
Definitions:
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(1)
(rationalize as in: rationalize bad behavior) to justify or explain behavior that seems bad or unreasonable -- typically done subconsciously
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely today (though more common prior to the 20th century), rationalize can mean to think, or to make something reasonable, or to eliminate unreasonable aspects of something. Even more specifically (especially in Great Britain), rationalize can refer to re-structuring a company to be more efficient -- sometimes used as a euphemism for laying off employees (downsizing).
Rationalize also has a specialized definition in mathematics -- to eliminate irrational numbers from an equation or expression without changing its value.