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

In such an environment, it is especially reckless to assume that war, no matter how justified, will somehow purify institutions rather than corrode them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

A second principle that limits when deadly force can legally be used is proportionality: Shooting someone is only justified when it is a proportional response to the perceived threat.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

Not long after, he justified the roughly $130,000 investment the Rajasthan Royals made in a 13-year-old - becoming the youngest centurion in competitive senior cricket with a blistering 35-ball hundred against the Gujarat Titans.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

It is never justified, in our view, to attack civilians in retaliation for state-sponsored action that leads to the loss of civilian life.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Roberval thought this justified the conclusion that there is always some air, however little, in the Torricellian void.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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