justice

jus·tice

noun \ˈjəs-təs\

Definition of JUSTICE

1

a : the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments

b : judge

c : the administration of law; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity

2

a : the quality of being just, impartial, or fair

b (1) : the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action (2) : conformity to this principle or ideal : righteousness

c : the quality of conforming to law

3

: conformity to truth, fact, or reason : correctness

Examples of JUSTICE

1. They received justice in court.
2. the U.S. Department of Justice
3. criminals attempting to escape justice
4. The role of the courts is to dispense justice fairly to everyone.
5. She is a justice of the state supreme court.
6. I saw no justice in the court's decision.
7. We should strive to achieve justice for all people.

Origin of JUSTICE

Middle English, from Anglo-French justise, from Latin justitia, from justus

First Known Use: 12th century

Related to JUSTICE

Synonyms

equity, fair shake, right

Antonyms

inequity, injustice, raw deal, wrong

Related Words

justicer; equitability, equitableness, evenhandedness, fair-mindedness, fairness, impartiality; goodness, righteousness, virtue; honor, integrity, uprightness

Near Antonyms

bias, one-sidedness, partiality, prejudice; unfairness, unjustness, wrongfulness; corruption, impropiety; crime, offense (or offence), wrongdoing; disservice, harm

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

justice

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In philosophy, the concept of a proper proportion between a person's deserts (what is merited) and the good and bad things that befall or are allotted to him or her. Aristotle's discussion of the virtue of justice has been the starting point for almost all Western accounts. For him, the key element of justice is treating like cases alike, an idea that has set later thinkers the task of working out which similarities (need, desert, talent) are relevant. Aristotle distinguishes between justice in the distribution of wealth or other goods (distributive justice) and justice in reparation, as, for example, in punishing someone for a wrong he has done (retributive justice). The notion of justice is also essential in that of the just state, a central concept in political philosophy. See also law.