justification

American  

[juhs-tuh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌdʒʌs tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. a reason, fact, circumstance, or explanation that justifies or defends.

   His insulting you was ample justification for you to leave the party.

2. an act of justifying.

   The painter's justification of his failure to finish on time didn't impress me.

3. the state of being justified.

4. Also called justification by faith.  Theology.  the act of God whereby humankind is made or accounted just, or free from guilt or penalty of sin.

5. Printing.  the spacing of words and letters within a line of type so that all full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right.

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justification British  

/ ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. reasonable grounds for complaint, defence, etc

2. the act of justifying; proof, vindication, or exculpation

3. theol

   1. the act of justifying

   2. the process of being justified or the condition of having been justified

4. Also called: justification by faith.  Protestant theol the doctrine that God vindicates only those who repent and believe in Jesus

5. printing computing the process of adjusting interword spacing in text or data so that both right and left margins are straight

6. computing the process of moving data right or left so that the first or last character occurs in a predefined position

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Other Word Forms

• prejustification noun
• rejustification noun
• superjustification noun

Etymology

Origin of justification

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin jūstificātiōn-, stem of jūstificātiō, from jūstificāt(us) “justified” (past participle of jūstificāre; justify ) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

These advantages are most appealing when China lacks a strong justification for claiming its actions are lawful countermeasures, as with its continuing campaign against Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal

Experts say there is no justification for screening the large majority of men for prostate cancer.

From BBC

He submits that American justifications of slavery rested on ideas that were in place long before slavery’s expansion in 19th-century America—before the American Founding or even the establishment of the English Atlantic world.

From The Wall Street Journal

National security, however, provides the broadest justification for withholding information, with the law giving the attorney general the power to judge whether certain information poses a threat to national security.

From Salon

Novartis didn’t test the treatment in adults, but the FDA said that the company had “provided adequate justification to support expanding the indication” to include adult patients.

From Barron's

Related Words

• apology
• approval
• argument
• basis
• confirmation
• explanation
• pretext
• rationale
• rationalization
• vindication