justify

play

verb jus·ti·fy \ˈjə-stə-ˌfī\

Definition of justify

justified

;

justifying

transitive verb
1a : to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable trying to justify his selfish behavior I shouldn't have to justify myself to them. justify the ways of God to man — John Miltonb (1) : to show to have had a sufficient legal reason (2) : to qualify (oneself) as a surety (see surety 3) by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property
2a : to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation God justifies with his forgiveness and grace the man who comes to him — Will Herbergb archaic : to administer justice toc archaic : absolve
3a : to space (lines of text) so that the lines come out even at the marginb : to make even by spacing lines of text justified margins
intransitive verb
1a : to show a sufficient lawful reason for an act doneb : to qualify as bail or surety the surety justified on the bail bond
2 : to justify lines of text

justifier

play \ˈjə-stə-ˌfī(-ə)r\ noun

See justify defined for English-language learners

See justify defined for kids

Examples of justify in a Sentence

He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss.
The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals.

Recent Examples of justify from the Web

None of the usual reasons coaches give, publicly or privately, for blocking transfers to certain schools justifies the practice.

— kevin scarbinsky, AL.com, "Gus Malzahn another coach getting it wrong by blocking transfers", 3 June 2017
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special counsel to take over the investigation, wrote the memorandum intended to justify Trump’s decision to fire Comey.

— jeff horwitz, The Seattle Times, "AP sources: Special counsel on Russia probe expanding scope", 2 June 2017
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special counsel to take over the investigation, wrote the memorandum intended to justify Trump's decision to fire Comey.

— sadie gurman, chicagotribune.com, "Mueller broadens Trump investigation to include Manafort and possibly Sessions", 2 June 2017
Home loans vary by country and differences in borrowers’ repayment behavior justify a more nuanced approach, rather than imposing the same sets of capital charges on all banks’ mortgages, Cryan said Tuesday at an investor conference in New York.

— matt scully, Bloomberg.com, "Deutsche CEO Says Europe Must Fight U.S. Mortgage Capital Rules", 30 May 2017
The administration has still not produced any factual basis justifying the six-country ban.

— garrett epps, The Atlantic, "Trump's Travel Ban Is Headed for a Supreme Court Showdown", 28 May 2017
The ending of the game, which meant the continuation of a season, justified the Aztecs’ joy.

— kevin acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "SDSU earns its joy along with NCAA berth", 28 May 2017
In 2000, Democrats added three seats to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the court’s caseload justified the expansion, but also setting a precedent that Republicans are now eager to reverse.

— michael wines, New York Times, "Rebuked Twice by Supreme Court, North Carolina Republicans Are Unabashed", 27 May 2017
Ohio’s largest online charter school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, this month lost the latest round of its battle over $60 million the state says is owed for enrollment that cannot be justified.

— Washington Post, "States struggle with oversight of online charter schools", 26 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'justify'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of justify

Middle English justifien, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French justifier, from Late Latin justificare, from Latin justus —see ¹just

First Known Use: 14th century

Synonym Discussion of justify

maintain, assert, defend, vindicate, justify mean to uphold as true, right, just, or reasonable. maintain stresses firmness of conviction. steadfastly maintained his innocence assert suggests determination to make others accept one's claim. asserted her rights defend implies maintaining in the face of attack or criticism. defended his voting record vindicate implies successfully defending. his success vindicated our faith in him justify implies showing to be true, just, or valid by appeal to a standard or to precedent. the action was used to justify military intervention

JUSTIFY Defined for English Language Learners

justify

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verb

Definition of justify for English Language Learners

: to provide or be a good reason for (something) : to prove or show (something) to be just, right, or reasonable
: to provide a good reason for the actions of (someone)
: to position (text) so that the edges form a straight line

JUSTIFY Defined for Kids

justify

play

verb jus·ti·fy \ˈjəs-tə-ˌfī\

Definition of justify for Students

justified

;

justifying

: to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable How can you justify your actions?

justifiable

\-ə-bəl\ adjective

justifiably

\-blē\ adverb

Law Dictionary

justify

play

verb jus·ti·fy \ˈjəs-tə-ˌfī\

Legal Definition of justify

justified

justifying

transitive verb
1 : to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable does not justify a denial of bail
2 : to show to have had a legally sufficient reason or cause a defendant may not set up his own standard of conduct to justify or excuse himself — State v. Doss, 568 P.2d 1054 (1977)
intransitive verb
1 : to show a legally sufficient reason for an act
2 : to swear an oath as to the ownership of sufficient property they shall justify in an amount no less than $200 — Oregon Revised Statutes; also : to qualify as a surety by swearing such an oath the defendants sought to justify as bail — State v. Blaisdell, 253 A.2d 341 (1969)