ra·tion·al·ize

verb

/ˈræʃnəlaɪz/

(British English also rationalise)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they rationalize	/ˈræʃnəlaɪz/ /ˈræʃnəlaɪz/
he / she / it rationalizes	/ˈræʃnəlaɪzɪz/ /ˈræʃnəlaɪzɪz/
past simple rationalized	/ˈræʃnəlaɪzd/ /ˈræʃnəlaɪzd/
past participle rationalized	/ˈræʃnəlaɪzd/ /ˈræʃnəlaɪzd/
-ing form rationalizing	/ˈræʃnəlaɪzɪŋ/ /ˈræʃnəlaɪzɪŋ/

[transitive, intransitive] rationalize (something) to find or try to find a logical reason to explain why somebody thinks, behaves, etc. in a way that is difficult to understand对…进行理性的解释；对…加以科学的说明
- an attempt to rationalize his violent behaviour对他的暴力行为作出合理解释的尝试
[transitive, intransitive] rationalize (something) (British English) to make changes to a business, system, etc. in order to make it more efficient, especially by spending less money使合理化；进行合理化改革；使有经济效益
- Twenty workers lost their jobs when the department was rationalized.在部门的合理化改革中，有二十名工人失业。
Synonyms cut
cutslash ▪ cut something back ▪ scale something back ▪ rationalize ▪ downsizeThese words all mean to reduce the amount or size of something, especially of an amount of money or a business.
cut to reduce something, especially an amount of money that is demanded, spent, earned, etc. or the size of a business:
The President has promised to cut taxes significantly.总统承诺大幅度减税。
Buyers will bargain hard to cut the cost of the house they want.买主会竭力讨价还价以压低他们想买的房子的价格。
His salary has been cut by ten per cent.他的薪金减少了百分之十。
Could you cut your essay from 5 000 to 3 000 words?请把你的文章从 5 000 字删减到 3 000 字好吗？
slash [often passive] (rather informal) (often used in newspapers) to reduce something by a large amount:
The workforce has been slashed by half.职工人数裁减了一半。
cut something back/cut back on something to reduce something, especially an amount of money or business:
We had to cut back production.我们只得减产了。
scale something back (especially North American English or business) to reduce something, especially an amount of money or business:
The IMF has scaled back its growth forecasts for the next decade.国际货币基金组织已经调低对未来十年的增长预测。
rationalize (British English, business) to make changes to a business or system, in order to make it more efficient, especially by spending less money.downsize (business) to make a company or an organization smaller by reducing the number of jobs in it, in order to reduce costs. Downsize is often used by people who want to avoid saying more obvious words like ‘dismiss’ or ‘make redundant’ because they sound too negative.
Patterns
- to cut/slash/cut back on/scale back/rationalize spending/production
- to cut/slash/cut back on jobs
- to cut/slash/downsize the workforce
- to cut/slash/rationalize the cost of something
- to cut/slash prices/taxes/the budget
- to cut something/slash something/cut something back drastically