justification

noun

jus·​ti·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjə-stə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

1

a

: the act or an instance of justifying something : vindication

arguments offered in justification of their choice

b

: an acceptable reason for doing something : something that justifies an act or way of behaving

could provide no justification for his decision

2

: the act, process, or state of being justified by God (see justify sense 2a)

3

: the process or result of justifying lines of text (see justify sense 3a)

software that provides automatic justification of text

Synonyms of justification

• excuse
• reason

Examples of justification in a Sentence

He tried to present a justification for his behavior.

There is no possible justification for what she did.

His behavior is without justification.

Recent Examples on the Web

Public Citizen’s audit revealed that HHS disbanded about 75 of its 375 advisory committees in 2025 alone — 49 at NIH, nine at CDC and four at FDA — often without any scientific justification. — A.j. Russo, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2026

Margins are tight, investment justification is hard and operators are measured on today's sales, today's inventory and today's competition. — Richard Kestenbaum, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

The discussion, according to Oberding, focused on the argument that the school had improperly invoked the House settlement as justification for the program’s elimination. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026

Last week, the Herald reported that a network of Miami-Dade firms linked to TourProdEnter received tens of millions of dollars, despite appearing to lack clear business justification. — Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing justification

• in justification of
• self-justification
• with some justification

Rhymes for justification

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

justification

noun

jus·​ti·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjəs-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

1

: the act or an instance of justifying or of being justified

2

: something that justifies : defense

Legal Definition

justification

noun

jus·​ti·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjəs-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

1

: the act or an instance of justifying

2

: something that justifies

specifically : a legally sufficient reason or cause (as self-defense) for an act that would otherwise be criminal or tortious

3

: the affirmative defense of having a legally sufficient justification compare excuse