1. The act of making excuses or giving false reasons to justify behaviour
   "His rationalisation for missing work was an elaborate excuse to hide his fear of public speaking";
   - rationalization
    
2. The cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason
   "His rationalisation for his unethical behaviour didn't convince anyone";
   - rationalization
    
3. The organization of a business according to scientific principles of management in order to increase efficiency
   "The rationalisation of the factory's production line led to increased output";
   - rationalization
    
4. Systematic organization; the act of organizing something according to a system or a rationale
   "The library underwent rationalisation to improve its efficiency";
   - systematization, systematisation [Brit], rationalization
    
5. (mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation
   "The rationalisation of the denominator made the fraction easier to work with";
   - rationalization

Derived forms: rationalisations

Type of: defence [Brit, Cdn], defence mechanism [Brit, Cdn], defence reaction [Brit, Cdn], defense [US], defense mechanism [US], defense reaction [US], explanation, organisation [Brit], organization, simplification

Encyclopedia: Rationalisation