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rationale
5 dictionary results for: rationale
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ra·tion·ale       [rash-uh-nal] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something.
2.a statement of reasons.
3.a reasoned exposition of principles.
[Origin: 1650–60; < L: neut. of ratiōnālis rational]

—Synonyms 1. logic, basis, grounds.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ra·tion·ale       (rāsh'ə-nāl')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Fundamental reasons; the basis.
  2. An exposition of principles or reasons.


[Late Latin ratiōnāle, from neuter of Latin ratiōnālis, rational; see rational.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rationale 
1657, from L.L. rationale, noun use of neuter of L. rationalis "of reason" (see rational).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
rationale

noun
(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rationale

Ra`tion*a"le\, n. [L. rationalis, neut. rationale. See Rational, a.] An explanation or exposition of the principles of some opinion, action, hypothesis, phenomenon, or like; also, the principles themselves.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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