justify

American  

[juhs-tuh-fahy] / ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

• justifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• justified,
  past participle,  past
• justifying
  present participle

1. 

   to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right.

   The end does not always justify the means.

   Synonyms:

   validate, vindicate

2. to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded.

   Don't try to justify his rudeness.

   Synonyms:

   excuse

3. Theology. to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit

4. Printing.

   1. to make (a line of type) a desired length by spacing the words and letters, especially so that full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right.

   2. to level and square (a strike).

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verb (used without object)

• justifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• justified,
  past participle,  past
• justifying
  present participle

1. Law.

   1. to show a satisfactory reason or excuse for something done.

   2. to qualify as bail or surety.

2. Printing. (of a line of type) to fit exactly into a desired length.

justify British  

/ ˈdʒʌstɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (often passive) to prove or see to be just or valid; vindicate

   he was certainly justified in taking the money

2. to show to be reasonable; warrant or substantiate

   his behaviour justifies our suspicion

3. to declare or show to be free from blame or guilt; absolve

4. law

   1. to show good reason in court for (some action taken)

   2. to show adequate grounds for doing (that with which a person is charged)

      to justify a libel

5. (also intr) printing computing to adjust the spaces between words in (a line of type or data) so that it is of the required length or (of a line of type or data) to fit exactly

6. 1. Protestant theol to account or declare righteous by the imputation of Christ's merits to the sinner

   2. RC theol to change from sinfulness to righteousness by the transforming effects of grace

7. (also intr) law to prove (a person) to have sufficient means to act as surety, etc, or (of a person) to qualify to provide bail or surety

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• justifier
  noun
• prejustify
  verb (used with object)
• rejustify
  verb (used with object)
• justifyingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• justifying
  present
• justified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• justify
  simple
• justifies
  simple
• have justified
  perfect
• has justified
  perfect
• am justifying
  progressive
• are justifying
  progressive
• is justifying
  progressive
• have been justifying
  perfect progressive
• has been justifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• justified
  simple
• had justified
  perfect
• was justifying
  progressive
• were justifying
  progressive
• had been justifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will justify
  simple
• will have justified
  perfect
• will be justifying
  progressive
• will have been justifying
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of justify

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English justifien, from Old French justifier, from Late Latin jūstificāre, equivalent to Latin jūsti- (combining form of jūstus just ¹ ) + -ficāre -fy

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Explanation

To justify is to make excuses for one's actions, like the dieter who has to justify the few tiny pieces of chocolate she's sneaked in between salads. Anyone who has ever made excuses for his or her actions knows the meaning of justify, like the bank robber who justifies his latest heist by claiming he needs the bank's money to support his charitable foundation. He might think he's got a good reason for holding up the bank, but he's going to have a hard time convincing the bank's owner of his reason, or justification. To justify a line of text is to space it so that it lines up with the margin.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

justify justifies justified justifying

At issue in this latest legal dispute over trans rights was whether the government had evidence to justify a sharp change in its prison regulations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

And I didn’t realize we had to justify or defend this, or that it was anything out of the ordinary.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

However, analysts pointed out that investors are expecting better and better reports to justify valuations.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Still, he says he believes “the drawbacks are few and minor and no longer justify the legal and policy roadblocks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

And again there are mornings when ecstasy bubbles in the blood, and the stomach and chest are tight and electric with joy, and nothing in the thoughts to justify it or cause it.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

CEOs can show a high level of conviction in the value of AI that justifies a long-term investment horizon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The French president said "nothing justifies" the "unbridled" violence seen and said those involved would face justice.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Anthropic will have to get to its own market projection without owning a declining microblogging platform, and until its documents are public, we won’t know how the company justifies it.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

It justifies the name change by saying that the deepest part of the lake is on the American side, meaning that the United States "claims most of the Lake's volume."

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

She talks about all those pretty scientific words, all those Big Terms, and justifies all those footnotes in her book.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

Wane had his critics, many of them justified, but he organised a defensively solid England team who whitewashed Tonga on their tour of Britain in 2023.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

If those celebrations aren’t quite justified, there’s still something to be learned from the ordeal, which digs into the so-called dead internet theory.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

"A law that was justified as protecting children's welfare is putting precisely those children under pressure at school," the group said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Against this backdrop, continued market nervousness appears justified, Nguyen says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The boast seemed justified to Jim and Farmer when they read the official data, which revealed a remarkably low incidence of TB.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

After being deported back home last year, Melekhin was charged with "justifying terrorism" and sentenced to six years in prison.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

In justifying that more upbeat outlook, Chipotle’s executives said they still liked their sales momentum overall.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

The practice is so unusual that an internal waiver justifying the choice is typically required.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

The Times quotes officials justifying the order by saying it would reduce duplication of effort; our own spies wouldn’t bother recruiting someone if they knew he or she was already an agent.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

The remaining way for kleptocrats to gain public support is to construct an ideology or religion justifying kleptocracy.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• advocate
• condone
• confirm
• countenance
• defend
• explain
• favor
• maintain
• rationalize
• support
• sustain
• uphold
• validate
• vindicate
• warrant

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