rationalizing

1. defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoningExamples: "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"Synonyms: apologise, apologize, excuse, justify, rationalise, rationalize

2. weed out unwanted or unnecessary thingsExamples: "We had to lose weight, so we cut the sugar from our diet"Synonyms: cut, prune, rationalise, rationalize

3. structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired resultsExamples: "We rationalized the factory's production and raised profits"Synonyms: rationalise, rationalize

4. think rationally; employ logic or reasonExamples: "When one wonders why one is doing certain things, one should rationalize"Synonyms: rationalise, rationalize

5. remove irrational quantities fromExamples: "This function can be rationalized"Synonyms: rationalise, rationalize