How to Use justify in a Sentence

justify

verb

• The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals.
• He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss.
• Used to justify the murder of Black and brown people at the hands of the state.
  — Utsha G. Khatri, STAT, 27 Oct. 2023
• And, beyond that, whether Nabers and Glover have enough to say on that theme to justify the whole show.
  — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023
• In Mary’s video, the teacher can be heard justifying his use of the slur.
  — Jonathan Edwards, Anchorage Daily News, 16 May 2023
• Pelton wasn't done justifying his mark for the Suns for the deal.
  — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 20 June 2023
• If a movie can justify the cost, studios will still make the effort.
  — Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 9 July 2024
• Akikos is for diners who go to shows and only want to hear the hits; the food is good, but not enough to justify the price tag.
  — Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2023
• If the agent who opened fire on the would-be thieves feared for his life, or the life of someone else, he would have been justified in the shooting.
  — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2023
• While the price might be hard to justify, there's no denying the quality.
  — Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 8 May 2023
• But Dobbs played well enough to justify the 49ers keeping three quarterbacks on the active roster come the end of the month.
  — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2024
• Those who can justify the power supply will note that the math leaves them paying only $80 for the case.
  — PCMAG, 30 May 2024
• Or did the city use taxpayer funds for reasons that are hard to justify?
  — Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 25 Mar. 2024
• So what would justify taking over the airways and sending a text to most people in all 50 states?
  — Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023
• That should be a one-time event, which justifies dipping into the reserves.
  — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024
• The steep price might be hard to justify, but the brand's lifetime guarantee can give you peace of mind about your purchase.
  — Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 5 June 2023
• In the past, those budgets were justified with movies that crossed $1 billion worldwide with ease.
  — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 July 2023
• And the Hamas terrorist attacks can be seen as justified in the context of 75 years of colonial rule.
  — Ross Barkan, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
• Only two found that the officers’ use of force was not justified.
  — Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023
• This was a coup attempt, and Eastman’s memo was merely a thin veneer of legalese to justify it.
  — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2023
• High draft picks, such as McConkey, look to justify the draft capital spent on them.
  — Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
• The guards have little power to enforce the law or the M.T.A.’s rules, which has prompted questions about whether the cost of hiring them was justified.
  — Ana Ley, New York Times, 5 June 2023
• The $32 price tag may feel steep to some, but the pore-defeating and ultra-smoothing results are sure to justify the cost.
  — Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 14 June 2023
• Whether James is a good enough player to justify the hullabaloo.
  — Bill Oram, oregonlive, 9 Apr. 2023
• While pricey, the ease of setup and strong signal justify the investment.
  — Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 8 Oct. 2024
• By contrast, even the most notable bites here – one set on and around a blimp comes to mind – hardly seem to justify consuming the whole thing.
  — Brian Lowry, CNN, 11 Aug. 2023
• If God wanted to destroy the whole of mankind, Calvin says, he would be justified by our sinfulness.
  — James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
• Here’s how Matician justifies it: Matic is designed as a service to keep your floors clean, all the time.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 9 May 2023
• The judge ruled the issues raised by the defense did not justify a new trial or dismissal, and that the state did not suppress the ammunition evidence in Gutierrez's trial that was at the heart of Baldwin's dismissal.
  — Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024
• Despite the furor over the shooting, a grand jury declined to charge the eight police officers involved, finding the officers were legally justified in using deadly force against Walker.
  — Polo Sandoval, CNN, 21 Oct. 2024

Last Updated: 11 Nov 2024