Both Uses of
rationalize
in
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- She was missing Johnny so terribly and thinking so, to rationalize his not being there.†
Chpt 40 *rationalize = justify or explain
- "But then," he rationalized, "if I did that, all the other would expect to get 'em handed to 'em.†
Chpt 27
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.