justify

verb

jus·​ti·​fy ˈjə-stə-ˌfī 

justified; justifying

transitive verb

1

a

: to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable

trying to justify his selfish behavior

I shouldn't have to justify myself to them.

justify the ways of God to man

—John Milton

b(1)

: to show to have had a sufficient legal reason

(2)

: to qualify (oneself) as a surety (see surety sense 3) by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property

2

a

: to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation

God justifies with his forgiveness and grace the man who comes to him

—Will Herberg

b

archaic : to administer justice to

c

archaic : absolve

3

a

: to space (lines of text) so that the lines come out even at the margin

b

: to make even by spacing lines of text

justified margins

intransitive verb

1

a

: to show a sufficient lawful reason for an act done

b

: to qualify as bail or surety

the surety justified on the bail bond

2

: to justify lines of text

justifier

ˈjə-stə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Synonyms

• excuse

Choose the Right Synonym for justify

maintain, assert, defend, vindicate, justify mean to uphold as true, right, just, or reasonable.

maintain stresses firmness of conviction.

steadfastly maintained his innocence

assert suggests determination to make others accept one's claim.

asserted her rights

defend implies maintaining in the face of attack or criticism.

defended his voting record

vindicate implies successfully defending.

his success vindicated our faith in him

justify implies showing to be true, just, or valid by appeal to a standard or to precedent.

the action was used to justify military intervention

Examples of justify in a Sentence

He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss.

The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals.

Recent Examples on the Web

The fact that its nuclear warheads are so close to Ukraine could, in fact, tempt Russia to conduct a false-flag operation on its own storage sites in order to justify a nuclear attack. —William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024

Traders have been betting for months that a Trump victory could enhance the value of Truth Social — though justifying its current price tag would be very difficult even if Trump is back in the White House. —Matt Egan, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024

And, before beginning, there’s often a need to justify the investment internally. —Andrea Wasserman, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Escalating without air defenses is either leading with one’s chin or setting the pieces of the puzzle in place to justify a move towards developing atomic weapons. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English justifien, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French justifier, from Late Latin justificare, from Latin justus — see just entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing justify

• justify oneself

Kids Definition

justify

verb

jus·​ti·​fy ˈjəs-tə-ˌfī 

justified; justifying

1

: to prove or show to be just, right, legal, or reasonable

2

: to release from the guilt of sin

justifiable

ˈjəs-tə-ˌfī-ə-bəl

adjective

justifiably

-blē

adverb

justifier

-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

Legal Definition

justify

verb

jus·​ti·​fy ˈjəs-tə-ˌfī 

justified; justifying

transitive verb

1

: to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable

does not justify a denial of bail

2

: to show to have had a legally sufficient reason or cause

a defendant may not set up his own standard of conduct to justify or excuse himself

—State v. Doss, 568 P.2d 1054 (1977)

intransitive verb

1

: to show a legally sufficient reason for an act

2

: to swear an oath as to the ownership of sufficient property

they shall justify in an amount no less than $200

—Oregon Revised Statutes

also : to qualify as a surety by swearing such an oath

the defendants sought to justify as bail

—State v. Blaisdell, 253 A.2d 341 (1969)