rationalize

verb

1 as soon as Mary had gone he began to rationalize his behavior:

justify, explain (away), account for, defend, vindicate, excuse, make excuses for, make allowances for, give an explanation for, provide a rationale for, make acceptable;

rare extenuate.

2 they embarked on a series of attempts to rationalize the industry:

streamline, make more efficient, improve the running of, trim, slim down, hone, make economies in, reduce wastage in, simplify;

make cutbacks in, cut back on, prune, retrench on;

reorganize, modernize, update.

3 British Parliament should seek to rationalize the country's court structure:

reorganize;

clarify, make consistent, apply logic/reasoning to;

rare pragmatize.