justify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right.
The end does not always justify the means.
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to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded.
Don't try to justify his rudeness.
- Synonyms:
- excuse
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Printing.
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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.
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to level and square (a strike).
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verb (used without object)
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Law.
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to show a satisfactory reason or excuse for something done.
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to qualify as bail or surety.
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Printing. (of a line of type) to fit exactly into a desired length.
verb
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(often passive) to prove or see to be just or valid; vindicate
he was certainly justified in taking the money
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to show to be reasonable; warrant or substantiate
his behaviour justifies our suspicion
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to declare or show to be free from blame or guilt; absolve
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law
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to show good reason in court for (some action taken)
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to show adequate grounds for doing (that with which a person is charged)
to justify a libel
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(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
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Protestant theol to account or declare righteous by the imputation of Christ's merits to the sinner
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RC theol to change from sinfulness to righteousness by the transforming effects of grace
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(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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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justifiernoun
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prejustifyverb (used with object)
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rejustifyverb (used with object)
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justifyinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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justifysimple
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justifiessimple
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have justifiedperfect
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has justifiedperfect
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am justifyingprogressive
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are justifyingprogressive
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is justifyingprogressive
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have been justifyingperfect progressive
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has been justifyingperfect progressive
Past
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justifiedsimple
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had justifiedperfect
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was justifyingprogressive
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were justifyingprogressive
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had been justifyingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing justify
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They had reviewed 45 studies that were used to justify introducing Oxevision across the NHS.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Moerdler wrote that, in order to justify a higher stock multiple, Microsoft needs to offer a “strong indication” that revenue from the company’s Azure cloud segment justifies all of the company’s spending growth.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Big Tech earnings now need to prove that AI revenues, margins and cash flow can justify the scale" of the huge investments in AI infrastructure, Innes said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But false reports about exhausted runners after the first women’s 800-meter race helped justify the exclusion of this women’s race until 1960.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
I have no great quarrel with those who wish to read Wittgenstein as a relativist, providing they do not use this reading to justify a relativist history of science.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
Looking to add to their 2010 triumph, Spain would hope Yamal, who will turn 19 on the eve of the tie, picks the semi-final to deliver a performance that justifies his talent.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
"This research justifies a strong precautionary approach against introductions of extraterrestrial origin."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
Karp justifies Palantir's role by arguing that the company helps Western governments reduce terrorism, counter adversaries and strengthen democratic institutions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Among other things the law justifies is the experimenter’s belief that the average of a bunch of measurements of some quantity should approach the true value of the quantity as the number of measurements increases.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Kyiv calls its strikes "long-range sanctions", saying the attacks are justified retribution for Russia's more than four-year offensive and nightly attacks on its cities.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
As investigations continue, the question facing officials is straightforward: Will the public receive enough information to determine what happened — and whether the use of force was justified?
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
“You need to wait and see the reports to know if it’s justified or not,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the long-classified files have historically fuelled "justified speculation," saying that the American people have a right to see the information for themselves.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
I’d pushed away or justified every piece of evidence that Arletta was a phony.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
The majority didn’t issue an opinion justifying its ruling.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 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
But will consumers and companies ultimately pay up for the AI technology that is being built, justifying capital expenditures that will ultimately be measured in the trillions of dollars?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
In justifying the repeal of its former rule, the SEC argued that repeal made negotiating settlements easier and cheaper — thus, sparing the SEC’s scarce resources.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
She saw how welfare caseworkers kept clients in the dark about their rights, justifying arbitrary actions by citing mysterious regulations.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
