as in excuses
an explanation that frees one from fault or blame
offered a weak justification for why he was so late
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Recent Examples of justifications
But these justifications also feel like something of an excuse.
—
Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
In other words, all the old patriotic and moral justifications for our forever wars no longer applied.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
And the original justifications given was the nuclear threat and those kinds of things—all of them have just sort of fallen by the wayside.
—Nik Popli, Time, 3 Mar. 2026
Critics have charged that the justifications for the military action have been shifting or opaque.
—Justin Papp,pippa Stevens,dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger,lee Ying Shan,vinay Dwivedi, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Deputies said 299 justifications to enter the system referenced immigration enforcement, which is less than 1% of the hundreds of thousands of searches.
—Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Past administrations offered legal and moral justifications for military inventions, such as the Bush administration’s claims that Iraq was a just war.
—Gerard F. Powers, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2026
Their videos have turned American public opinion squarely against these operations and undercut the administration’s justifications for use of force.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
So while the balance-sheet justifications might shift, the general logic won’t.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 30 Jan. 2026
Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
In other words, all the old patriotic and moral justifications for our forever wars no longer applied.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
And the original justifications given was the nuclear threat and those kinds of things—all of them have just sort of fallen by the wayside.
—Nik Popli, Time, 3 Mar. 2026
Critics have charged that the justifications for the military action have been shifting or opaque.
—Justin Papp,pippa Stevens,dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger,lee Ying Shan,vinay Dwivedi, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Deputies said 299 justifications to enter the system referenced immigration enforcement, which is less than 1% of the hundreds of thousands of searches.
—Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Past administrations offered legal and moral justifications for military inventions, such as the Bush administration’s claims that Iraq was a just war.
—Gerard F. Powers, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2026
Their videos have turned American public opinion squarely against these operations and undercut the administration’s justifications for use of force.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
So while the balance-sheet justifications might shift, the general logic won’t.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for justifications
Noun
-
They were later given other excuses for why payments had ceased.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Mar. 2026
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Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, suggested the possible advantage was only worth a few horsepower — not the few tenths of a second some rivals had feared — and that other teams were potentially looking for excuses before the season had even started.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Goldman Sachs cited a durable competitive moat and strong same-store sales growth as reasons to turn more bullish on Dutch Bros.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2026
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For similar reasons, the ULPs against the NCAA, USC and UCLA were also pulled, effectively abandoning what had appeared to be a viable administrative pathway to securing employee status for college athletes.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Justifications.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/justifications. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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