irrationalize
Definition
Verb (transitive): To make something appear or become irrational; to cause to lack reason or logic.
Usage Examples
- (The speech made the debate appear unreasonable.)
- (Stress makes a rational person behave without logic.)
Advanced Usage
"to irrationalize a situation": to deliberately distort facts or reasoning to create confusion or unreason.
- The conspiracy theories were designed to irrationalize the investigation, making it harder to find the truth. (The theories made the investigation seem illogical.)
"to irrationalize one’s own beliefs": to justify or explain away one’s irrational ideas as if they were rational.
- He tried to irrationalize his superstitions by claiming they were based on ancient wisdom. (He attempted to make his irrational beliefs seem logical.)
Variants and Related Words
Irrational (adj): not logical or reasonable.
- Her fear of spiders is completely irrational. (Her fear is not based on reason.)
Irrationality (n): the quality or state of being irrational.
- The irrationality of his actions surprised everyone. (His actions lacked logic.)
Irrationalize (verb): alternative spelling (chiefly British) — same meaning.
- They tried to irrationalise the policy by citing flawed statistics. (They made the policy appear unreasonable.)
Synonyms
- Render irrational: to cause something to become without reason.
- Make illogical: to cause something to lack logical sense.
- Distort reason: to twist or pervert rational thought.
Antonyms
- Rationalize: to make something appear reasonable or logical.
- Clarify: to make something clear and understandable.
Related Idioms
Throw reason out the window: to abandon logical thinking.
- When he gets angry, he throws reason out the window and irrationalizes every argument. (He stops being logical and makes things seem unreasonable.)
Cloud the mind: to make thinking unclear.
- Alcohol can cloud the mind and irrationalize your decisions. (Alcohol makes your thinking illogical.)