A defense mechanism, operating unconsciously, in which an individual attempts to justify or make consciously tolerable by plausible means feelings or behavior that otherwise would be intolerable. Not to be confused with conscious evasion or dissimulation.
In psychiatry, defense mechanism in which a person justifies behavior or occurrences by giving reasonable, but not true, explanations.
The explanation of events or behavior in terms that avoid giving the true reasons. For example, a patient may explain not going to a party in terms of being too tired whereas he did not go because he was afraid of meeting new people.
In psychology, a justification for an unreasonable or illogical act or idea to make it appear reasonable.