justify

American  

[juhs-tuh-fahy] / ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

• justifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• justified,
  past participle,  past
• justifying
  present participle

1. 

   to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right.

   The end does not always justify the means.

   Synonyms:

   validate, vindicate

2. to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded.

   Don't try to justify his rudeness.

   Synonyms:

   excuse

3. Theology. to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit

4. Printing.

   1. to make (a line of type) a desired length by spacing the words and letters, especially so that full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right.

   2. to level and square (a strike).

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verb (used without object)

• justifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• justified,
  past participle,  past
• justifying
  present participle

1. Law.

   1. to show a satisfactory reason or excuse for something done.

   2. to qualify as bail or surety.

2. Printing. (of a line of type) to fit exactly into a desired length.

justify British  

/ ˈdʒʌstɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (often passive) to prove or see to be just or valid; vindicate

   he was certainly justified in taking the money

2. to show to be reasonable; warrant or substantiate

   his behaviour justifies our suspicion

3. to declare or show to be free from blame or guilt; absolve

4. law

   1. to show good reason in court for (some action taken)

   2. to show adequate grounds for doing (that with which a person is charged)

      to justify a libel

5. (also intr) printing computing to adjust the spaces between words in (a line of type or data) so that it is of the required length or (of a line of type or data) to fit exactly

6. 1. Protestant theol to account or declare righteous by the imputation of Christ's merits to the sinner

   2. RC theol to change from sinfulness to righteousness by the transforming effects of grace

7. (also intr) law to prove (a person) to have sufficient means to act as surety, etc, or (of a person) to qualify to provide bail or surety

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• justifier
  noun
• prejustify
  verb (used with object)
• rejustify
  verb (used with object)
• justifyingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• justifying
  present
• justified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• justify
  simple
• justifies
  simple
• have justified
  perfect
• has justified
  perfect
• am justifying
  progressive
• are justifying
  progressive
• is justifying
  progressive
• have been justifying
  perfect progressive
• has been justifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• justified
  simple
• had justified
  perfect
• was justifying
  progressive
• were justifying
  progressive
• had been justifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will justify
  simple
• will have justified
  perfect
• will be justifying
  progressive
• will have been justifying
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of justify

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English justifien, from Old French justifier, from Late Latin jūstificāre, equivalent to Latin jūsti- (combining form of jūstus just ¹ ) + -ficāre -fy

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Explanation

To justify is to make excuses for one's actions, like the dieter who has to justify the few tiny pieces of chocolate she's sneaked in between salads. Anyone who has ever made excuses for his or her actions knows the meaning of justify, like the bank robber who justifies his latest heist by claiming he needs the bank's money to support his charitable foundation. He might think he's got a good reason for holding up the bank, but he's going to have a hard time convincing the bank's owner of his reason, or justification. To justify a line of text is to space it so that it lines up with the margin.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

justify justifies justified justifying

The study’s lead author even went so far as to say that the existing evidence for intermittent fasting doesn’t justify the hype seen on social media.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

To justify its valuation, Airbnb will need to turn repeat customers into loyal ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Just don’t try to justify your belief by referring to the bull market’s age or height.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

Ten-year yields still track the market-implied Fed path, and the recent rise in non-Fed risk premium doesn’t yet justify a longer-duration stance, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Why would these young men openly endorse and perpetuate the very stereotypes that are invoked to justify their second-class status, their exclusion from mainstream society?

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Anthropic will have to get to its own market projection without owning a declining microblogging platform, and until its documents are public, we won’t know how the company justifies it.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Moerdler wrote that, in order to justify a higher stock multiple, Microsoft needs to offer a “strong indication” that revenue from the company’s Azure cloud segment justifies all of the company’s spending growth.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

That broad influence justifies the “Mother of the Blues” appellation, even if it was a marketing term to begin with.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

"Nothing justifies these substantial harms to competition," the lawsuit states.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Dissent is a necessary ingredient of change, but in a system of government that provides for peaceful change, there is no cause that justifies resort to violence.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

If those celebrations aren’t quite justified, there’s still something to be learned from the ordeal, which digs into the so-called dead internet theory.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

"A law that was justified as protecting children's welfare is putting precisely those children under pressure at school," the group said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Melius Research analyst James West believes the market’s positive reaction of late is justified, as “we are in the very early stages of a true, global nuclear renaissance,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The question is whether those risks are justified by the fact that some people will find their cancer earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

No doubt Sir Lancelot would like to make an explanation of the trouble, so that the Church may be justified in her reconciliation.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

After being deported back home last year, Melekhin was charged with "justifying terrorism" and sentenced to six years in prison.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Understanding why he matters means understanding that the modern federal government is shaped not only by elected officials but also by attorneys who craft legal arguments justifying government action.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

In justifying that more upbeat outlook, Chipotle’s executives said they still liked their sales momentum overall.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

The practice is so unusual that an internal waiver justifying the choice is typically required.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the occasion’s justifying her coming so far alone.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

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Related Words

• advocate
• condone
• confirm
• countenance
• defend
• explain
• favor
• maintain
• rationalize
• support
• sustain
• uphold
• validate
• vindicate
• warrant

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