self-justifying

American  

[self-juhs-tuh-fahy-ing, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪ ɪŋ, ˈsɛlf- /

adjective

1. offering excuses for oneself, especially in excess of normal demands.

2. automatically adjusting printed or typed lines to fill a given space, especially to conform to a rigid margin.

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self-justifying British  

adjective

1. offering excuses for one's behaviour, often when they are not called for

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Etymology

Origin of self-justifying

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

That goes double for Clo’s self-loathing, self-justifying interior monologues.

From The Wall Street Journal

Speer’s reputation as a “good Nazi” was enhanced by his relentlessly self-justifying memoirs.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I am a loyal person,” Harris writes, which is not only self-justifying but has the slightly off-putting whiff of someone declaring, by golly, I’m just too honest.

From Los Angeles Times

But the light that she turns on Pinochet and his money-grubbing, self-justifying descendants is not merely investigative in nature.

From Los Angeles Times

Less than a year after he was forced out as prime minister by his own Conservative Party, Johnson unexpectedly stepped down as a lawmaker late Friday - “at least for now,” he said in a self-justifying resignation statement.

From Washington Times