justification

American  

[juhs-tuh-fi-kay-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

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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. )

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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

“The American Age Is Over,” an Atlantic headline put it last month, and not without some justification.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

"This is petrol stations, it's shopping malls, it's business centres, but it's especially energy infrastructure, energy transmission lines, and so on. There is absolutely no justification for that," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Right now there’s more bureaucracy in the process today… asking them for justification of why they’re using this and like what’s the business value they’re driving, etc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Before 9/11 became a justification, a policy, a war or a political symbol, it was an experience of shared human vulnerability.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

The vice president of the Durham Merchants Association complained, with some justification, that the business community was being blamed for all of Durham’s ills.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Meredith Hankins, a legal expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told AFP the two moves had contradictory legal justifications.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

Over seven pages, the Board of Education provided its justifications for Carvalho’s termination, citing allegedly unreported gifts, unreported outside income and donor-funded travel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

None of those justifications appear to apply here, according to contracting experts and former staffers consulted by ProPublica.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Tariff proponents offer a variety of justifications for raising levies from the near-zero average levels that prevailed before last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The justifications of men who kill should always be heard with skepticism, said the monster.

From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

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Related Words

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

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