justified
adjective
jus·ti·fied
ˈjə-stə-ˌfīd 
1
: having or shown to have a just, right, or reasonable basis
a justified punishment
a justified reputation for toughness
Such work calls for a combination of training and talent that few can lay justified claim to …—
Bernard Knox
Bernard Knox2
typography
a
: aligned evenly at the margin
a justified line of text
In justified composition, where the type must be flush with both the left and right margins, the machine will automatically expand or condense the word space or hyphenate end-of-line words to fill up the line measure.—Ray Blair and Thomas M. Destree
Ray Blair and Thomas M. Destree
b
: made even by spacing lines of text
a document with justified margins
Examples of justified in a Sentence
in a well-justified ruling the court voted unanimously to overturn the law
the use of force to capture the armed fugitive was fully justified
Recent Examples on the Web
Many see the escalation not just as justified—but long overdue.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Some of the calls were justified, but frankly, the Flyers received a couple of very fortunate calls.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Pop culture has been so stuck in a mode of romanticizing pioneers and settlers that American Primeval, with its insistence on diving into Mormon history and rejecting the idea that violence in the name of gaining power is justified, feels like a balancing of the scales.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
There is also some justified anxiety that the earnings growth and prosperity won’t continue.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 30 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for justified
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Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Some of the calls were justified, but frankly, the Flyers received a couple of very fortunate calls.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Pop culture has been so stuck in a mode of romanticizing pioneers and settlers that American Primeval, with its insistence on diving into Mormon history and rejecting the idea that violence in the name of gaining power is justified, feels like a balancing of the scales.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
There is also some justified anxiety that the earnings growth and prosperity won’t continue.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 30 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for justified
Cite this Entry
“Justified.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justified. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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