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

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

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

That might be enough to justify no rate hike to a majority of the 12 Fed officials who have a vote.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

But those threats don’t justify stringent regulations that restrict access to the technology, both executives said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Although the findings were statistically significant, they were not large enough to justify major changes in an individual's daily habits.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026

Many of last season's big-money signings - with a good chunk of them coming from the Bundesliga - failed to meet expectations or justify their transfer fee.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

In order to justify this, proponents of this position insist that evidence is never discovered: it is always ‘constructed’ within a particular social community.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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

That justifies a premium of a few percentage points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

We could rearrange the portfolios differently to tamp down the risk, selecting companies that are not projected to grow so quickly, but the current market environment justifies the risk — and will reward it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

"Nothing justifies these substantial harms to competition," the lawsuit states.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

I know what my mother is—she is someone for whom the end of a thing justifies the means of getting there, the same as my father, and the same, sometimes, as me.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Ultimately, it’s a lost cause, because his fears are justified.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

The court said in a statement that it had unanimously found that "none of the grounds" put forward by India to suspend the treaty were justified.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

After reviewing the evidence, an internal review board was divided on whether Garcia-Alamilla was justified in using deadly force.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

To investors, Dick’s results were proof that years-long anxieties about the shoe retailer were justified.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

There’s pride in it, because it demonstrates how extreme and therefore justified it was, for me.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Build a user base as quickly as possible, which in turn signals to investors there is a market fit, justifying more funding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Understanding why he matters means understanding that the modern federal government is shaped not only by elected officials but also by attorneys who craft legal arguments justifying government action.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

The majority didn’t issue an opinion justifying its ruling.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

I wandered more north than west, justifying my course by a curiosity to see the Sinoth Valley region, the locus of the rivalry between Karhide and Orgoreyn.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

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