justified

[ juhs-tuh-fahyd ]

adjective

1. having been shown to be just or right:

   If a parent sides with one child over another, one will feel righteous and justified, and the other will feel misunderstood and resentful.

2. warranted or well-grounded:

   The commission’s stance is that bans on GMO crops must be scientifically justified and crop-specific.

   I accept that there may be a penalty for justified civil disobedience, but I must weigh that penalty against the good that can be accomplished.

3. Printing. aligned with one or, especially, both margins:

   Justified text looks a little neater, but there's nothing particularly wrong with having a ragged right edge.

noun

1. Theology. Usually the justified. a person or persons believed to be worthy, redeemed, or absolved:

   Good works are logically and morally necessary, for they are nothing more or less than the evidence that one is indeed among the justified.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of justify ( def ).

Other Words From

• half-jus·ti·fied adjective
• un·jus·ti·fied adjective
• well-jus·ti·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of justified¹

justify ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

It’s not easy to justify spending hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars on a mission that could be over in a matter of hours and not give us what we need.

From MIT Technology Review

In its statement, the NLRB points to this precedent to justify refusing to turn over the documents sought by the House committee.

From ProPublica

To justify the vaccine’s emergency use, the CEO explained it would help ensure the company’s workers could continue to produce vaccines.

From Vox

Here, Kitchell based its recommendation on actual inspection and analysis, but recommended the most expensive option possible, which is not required by current codes or justified by reasonable safety concerns.

From Voice of San Diego

There’s no new science to justify removing SIRVA from the list of covered injuries.

From Fortune

And, in the case of fluoride, at least, that doubt might actually be justified.

From The Daily Beast

Certainly, this response would be understandable and even justified if de Blasio had in fact attacked the police.

From The Daily Beast

These detainments were often justified by laws that do not mention pregnancy specifically.

From The Daily Beast

And sure, we can debate whether from a legal point of view these shootings were justified.

From The Daily Beast

I do not support the belief that violent protest is justified regardless of the outcome of the Ferguson grand jury.

From The Daily Beast

Be this as it may, his conduct during the campaign justified the suspicion with which he was regarded by friend and foe.

From Project Gutenberg

His disposition was to trust those around him, and his generous confidence was usually justified.

From Project Gutenberg

During two years following, this prediction might well have appeared to moderate minded men entirely justified.

From Project Gutenberg

Now, the question is, whether these men are justified by the fact; and if not, what situation do they place themselves in?

From Project Gutenberg

In like manner if the landlord is to furnish heat and fails to do so, the tenant is justified in leaving.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• constitutional
• contractual
• fair
• juridical
• lawful
• legitimate
• proper
• statutory
• valid