| Main Entry: | justification |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reason, excuse |
Synonyms: |
absolution, account, acquittal, advocacy, answer, apologia, apology, approval, argument, basis, confirmation, defense, exculpation, exoneration, explanation, extenuation, grounds, idea, mitigation, palliation, palliative, plea, pretext, raison d'être, rationale, rationalization, rebuttal, redemption, reply, response, salvation, sanctification, song and dance, story, support, validation, vindication, warrant, whatfor, wherefore, whitewashing, whole idea, why and wherefore |
| Main Entry: | purpose |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | intention, meaning, aim |
Synonyms: |
ambition, animus, aspiration, big idea, bourn, calculation, design, desire, destination, determination, direction, dream, drift, end, expectation, function, goal, hope, idea, intendment, intent, mecca, mission, object, objective, plan, point, premeditation, principle, project, proposal, proposition, prospect, reason, resolve, scheme, scope, target, ulterior motive, view, whatfor, where one's headed, whole idea, why and wherefore, whyfor, will, wish |
| Main Entry: | rationale |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | logic for belief, action |
Synonyms: |
account, excuse, explanation, exposition, grounds, hypothesis, justification, motivation, motive, philosophy, principle, raison d'être, rationalization, reason, reasons, song and dance, sour grapes, story*, the big idea, the whole idea, theory, whatfor, why and wherefore, whyfor |
| Notes: | a rationale is given for a future course of action, whereas a rationalization is offered for a past action |
| Main Entry: | reason |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | explanation for an action |
Synonyms: |
account, apologia, apology, argument, case, cover, defense, excuse, exposition, ground, idea, justification, notion, proof, rationale, rationalization, song and dance, sour grapes, the whole idea, vindication, whatfor, wherefore, why and wherefore, why*, whyfor |
| Main Entry: | justification |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
Related
Adjectives: |
apologetic, defensible, exculpatory, excusable, justifiable, palliative, pardonable, plausible, specious, veniable, venial, vindicated, vindicating, vindicative, vindicatory
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| Main Entry: | purpose |
| Part of Speech: | noun, verb |
Related
Adjectives: |
| Main Entry: | rationale |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
Related
Adjectives: |
Aristotelian, analytical, argumentative, attributable, attributed, automorphic, biconditional, cogent, cognitive, coherent, controversial, controvertible, cumulative, cut-and-dried, debatable, definitive, derivable from, dialectic, dianoetic, didactic, discursive, discursory, disputatious, due to, epistemic, esemplastic, eudemonistic, facultative, forensic, hebamic, implausible, irrelevant, logical, lucid, moot, noetic, owing to, paralogic, perspicacious, perspicuous, polemical, putative, rational, rationalistic, reasoning, referable, referrible, relevant, specious, synthetic, tenable, thought-out, unilateral, viable, watertight, well-founded, well-grounded, well-taken
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