justifiable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of justifiable
From Middle French, dating back to 1515–25; see origin at justify, -able
Explanation
If something is justifiable, it was done for a good reason and is easily explained or defended. Your fear of gerbils is justifiable, given your experience with the mutant gerbil that ate your neighbor's dog. Justifiable means something is "able to be made just," and you'll hear the word often in legal contexts. "Justifiable homicide," for instance, is killing someone in self-defense — a situation where an act that is otherwise criminal is "made just" by the circumstances. You can also use the word in a more positive sense. For example, you can take justifiable pride in winning the race even though you started off running in the wrong direction.
Vocabulary lists containing justifiable
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
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myPerspectives 8.3
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The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
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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.
Justifiable applause for the way the Sounders improved their offensive attack has silenced how vulnerable the team might be defensively as the season progresses.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2022
Justifiable unease over the way in which GM-led business models would hand entire food chains to large agrochemical companies found a popular proxy in less-realistic concerns over the possible health impacts of the new technology.
From Nature • May 9, 2012
“Since a Justifiable Homicide isn’t a crime, there is no felony or misdemeanor offense to report,” Melissa Underwood, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, said in an email.
From Washington Post
Justifiable fury he knew and expected when he had terrorized their pets in the old days; laughter, and sometimes nervousness—but never a crude, uncivilized reception like this.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
Justifiable as his reasoning was, plausible as it may seem, yet he would have done better to have trusted the instinct that was in conflict with it.
From Captain Blood by Sabatini, Rafael
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.
