noun
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the condition or practice of being unjust or unfair
-
an unjust act
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of injustice
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin injūstitia; equivalent to in- 3 + justice
Compare meaning
How does injustice compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Life isn’t fair, and that quality is exactly what defines injustice: something unfair that happens, often in violation of a basic human right. In the early 19th century in the United States, women could not legally vote, but they fought back against this injustice and eventually won voting rights. The word comes from a Latin phrase that literally means “not right,” and injustice is the opposite of justice, which is a fair and righteous act. Injustice can be general or specific, like the injustice suffered by poor people everywhere, or an individual act of injustice committed by some unkind person.
Vocabulary lists containing injustice
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"To make a decision about what the sentence means, based on something that's so arbitrary and out of people's control, feels like a major injustice."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Ahead of a speech to party members, Davey urged Liberal Democrats not to look away from injustice or "human dignity under attack" but to fight back.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The cases are a textbook attempt at jackpot injustice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The unfortunate reality is that nearly every period of injustice the U.S. has experienced has come at the expense of human lives.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Richard had told them that a country born from the ashes of injustice would limit its practice of injustice.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A Swedish truth commission on Wednesday urged the state to apologise for injustices committed against its indigenous Sami people, including assimilation programmes, and provide compensation and redress.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
In December 2025, a Finnish a truth and reconciliation commission called on Finland to rectify injustices committed against the indigenous Sami people.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
“And naive. Because, we thought, ‘These injustices are so great, surely if we just explain them to people, they will want to fix them.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
My hope for this country: That the future holds more joy, more opportunity for growth, less injustices for all, recognition of past faults, and denouncing said faults.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Its emotional descriptions of slavery’s injustices caught the public’s attention.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
