self-justification
noun
self-jus·ti·fi·ca·tion
ˌself-ˌjə-stə-fə-ˈkā-shən 
: the act or an instance of making excuses for oneself
Examples of self-justification in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The major predicament for contemporary Jews of all varieties, in his view, is not that the struggle for meaning and self-justification is too burdensome or intractable.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024
Specific behaviors breed byzantine worldviews that emerge out of self-justification.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
This is in line with findings from a 2017 study led by psychologist and researcher Noelle Nelson that focusing on your emotions, rather than thinking about the failure (which tends to generate self-justification), helps people learn and improve.
—TIME, 2 Jan. 2024
But perhaps this is merely so much self-justification.
—Meghan O’Gieblyn, Harper's Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021
And Taylor is hilarious as a very stoned listener to Harvey’s self-justifications.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2023
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024
Specific behaviors breed byzantine worldviews that emerge out of self-justification.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
This is in line with findings from a 2017 study led by psychologist and researcher Noelle Nelson that focusing on your emotions, rather than thinking about the failure (which tends to generate self-justification), helps people learn and improve.
—TIME, 2 Jan. 2024
But perhaps this is merely so much self-justification.
—Meghan O’Gieblyn, Harper's Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021
And Taylor is hilarious as a very stoned listener to Harvey’s self-justifications.
—Celia Wren, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-justification.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near self-justification
Cite this Entry
“Self-justification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-justification. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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