The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

v. 1 make plausible or believable or understandable or
acceptable or reasonable, make allowance(s) or excuses for,
vindicate, account for, justify, excuse, reason away, explain
away: How can you rationalize taking my car without my
permission? 2 think through, reason out; apply logic to,
ratiocinate: He warps the statistics to rationalize his
argument. The fundamentalists make no attempt to rationalize
their literal interpretation of the Scripture.
rattle v. 1 clatter: An acorn dropped from an overhanging tree and
rattled down the tin roof. 2 shake, vibrate, jar, joggle,
jiggle: The wind was strong enough to rattle the windows in
their frames. 3 unnerve, disconcert, discomfit, disturb,
perturb, shake, discountenance, upset, agitate, put off, Chiefly
US and Canadian faze: They are only trying to rattle us by
saying that we might lose our jobs if we strike. 4 jounce,
bounce, bump, jolt, speed, hurtle: The stagecoach came rattling
down the road, swaying wildly. 5 rattle off. recite, list,
utter, reel off, run through, enumerate, call off: The
announcer rattled off a long list of trains cancelled because of
the storm. 6 rattle on. chatter, babble, jabber, gibber, prate,
prattle, blabber, cackle, blather, ramble, Chiefly Brit witter,
natter, Slang US run off at the mouth: The speaker kept
rattling on and on about the delights of collecting beer cans.
--n. 7 clatter, racket, noise; rale or rƒle, crackle,
crackling; death-rattle: I heard the rattle of the beans and
knew you were about to grind the coffee. The doctor said he
didn't like the rattle in my chest. 8 clapper, sistrum, US
noise-maker: Rattles have been used as musical instruments for
thousands of years.
rattletrap
n. flivver, rattler, Colloq jalopy, tin Lizzie, US Model T:
This old rattletrap won't get us all the way to Hawkhurst.
ratty adj. 1 irritable, cross, testy, touchy, annoyed, crabbed,
irritated, angry, short-tempered, impatient, disagreeable: He's
always ratty in the mornings when he has a hangover. 2 dirty,
greasy, straggly, unkempt, matted: His hair was all ratty and
he hadn't bathed in a month.
raucous adj. harsh, rasping, rough, husky, hoarse, grating, scratching,