rationalization

Noun

rationalization (countable and uncountable, plural rationalizations)

1. (archaic) The process or result of rationalizing, or expressing in rational terms.
   • Some rationalization of the language of his lectures is, of course, necessary.
   • […] a distrust of cut-and-dried formulas and a conviction that Marxism is not a 'final', self-sufficient rationalization and schematization of history, but rather a collection of pointers to the understanding of human affairs […]1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in...
2. A statement of one's motives, or of the causes of some event.
   • Her self-flagellating rationalization for the theft was mostly ignored by the jury.
   • But, he insisted, he was neither a “Union Saver” nor a “freedom shrieker.” He rejected all high-flown rationalizations for the war effort — “to hell with the devilish twaddle about freedom.”2014 October 17, Daniel W. Crofts, “What Union Soldiers Thought About the Civil War”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms:

   rationale, reasoning

3. The reorganization of a company or organization in order to improve its efficiency through the reallocation of resources and changes in its workforce.
   • It began with the familiar political motives of civil service rationalization and downsizing.
   • For socialism involves the reconstruction of industry upon the principle of production for use. It involves the rationalization of industry, the proper adjustment of production to the social requirements.1915 May, John Spargo, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, volume 59, page 160

   Synonyms:

   consolidation

4. The concealment of true motivation in some non-threatening way.
5. The simplification of an expression without changing its value.
   • Here, the rationalization of the denominator was unnecessary.