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. )

Explanation

In typesetting, the term justified refers to how words line up with the margins of a page or column. Whether you choose to make the text left, right, or fully justified depends on the purpose of the text. If you're typing a letter, you may want the date and your address to be right justified. The last character on each line would touch the right margin. The salutation (the part that says, "Dear Sir or Madam") would be left justified, with the D touching the left margin. The body of the letter could be left justified, with the right margin uneven, or fully justified, with both the right and left aligned.

Example Sentences

His age and the fact that he had less than a year left to serve justified his early release, it added.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

Those earnings may decide whether April’s rally by tech stocks has been justified, or if investors’ fears of overspending on AI infrastructure will return to the forefront.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 26, 2026

At least he’s justified, he believes, having caught Lisa in an affair with her scene partner.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Grieving is also time to get angry and justified in your own insane behavior.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

He had understood it all, weighed it all, and it made no difference: all was justified by the ultimate purpose.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Related Words

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