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.

Other Word Forms

• half-justified adjective
• unjustified adjective
• well-justified adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of justified¹

justify ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

The latter proves entirely justified as events unfold.

From Los Angeles Times

Last year Israel's High Court of Justice ruled that restrictions on entry to Gaza were justified on security grounds.

From BBC

"Burning children alive can never be justified," she wrote on Instagram.

From BBC

As Kirk’s shooting triggers furious debate on the perils of left versus right political violence, there is little consensus among Americans on what extremism is, who is perpetrating it and when it is justified.

From Los Angeles Times

Red Bull would argue the sacking was justified, and therefore that if there was to be a settlement figure, it should be considerably lower.

From BBC

Related Words

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