justified

American  

[juhs-tuh-fahyd] / ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪd /

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.

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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

Etymology

Origin of justified

justify ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Optimism about Fed cuts is justified, considering the elevated unemployment rate from earlier this week.

From Barron's

However, the highs of that success were followed in November by the UK National Screening Committee's recommendation that a prostate screening cancer programme for all men in the UK was not justified.

From BBC

The government has justified the contributions by saying it needs to redistribute funds from wealthier cities to financially weaker municipalities.

From Barron's

Some of these laws define the circumstances in which going to war is justified.

From The Wall Street Journal

He turned them into a team that justified the hype.

From BBC

Related Words

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