justification

American  

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

noun

• justifications
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• prejustification
  noun
• rejustification
  noun
• superjustification
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• justifications
  plural

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; see justify) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Close in meaning to an explanation, a justification is specifically for defending or explaining an event. The idea that he was just trying to scare his little sister was a pretty weak justification for the elaborate gag. Like its close cousin "justice," justification is derived from the Latin justificare, which means "to make right." When you offer a justification, you're trying to make something right—or, perhaps, even just. The notion that animals don't have emotions is one of the key justifications for allowing them to suffer. For many people, though, the fact that they suffer is justification enough to prevent it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

justification justifications

"We were shocked... There's no justification for this," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Vaccine scientists have said parents shouldn’t be concerned that vaccines cause autism and that there is no scientific justification for dramatically paring down the childhood vaccine schedule.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

An upbeat news report explains that rates of teen pregnancy are down, which is a very 1980s justification.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"There can be no justification for targeting civilians who sought shelter in search of safety," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty's Middle East director.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The old Antifederalist coalition that Madison had opposed so effectively at the Virginia ratifying convention in 1788 believed with some justification that their cause had never really been defeated, merely outmaneuvered.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The stewards' justifications for these two different incidents were based on a number of factors, many related to the Formula 1 drivers' guidelines.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Even so, Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute said that the executive branch has vast discretion in immigration law, particularly when invoking national security justifications, and defense attorneys may face an uphill battle.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

To be sure, there are justifications for the enthusiasm.

From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026

The government’s justifications for the probe “are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

He thought of several justifications for his letters, for he always felt a great need to write to his friend when he was bewildered or sad.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Related Words

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