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

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

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

That might be enough to justify no rate hike to a majority of the 12 Fed officials who have a vote.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

The CEO had argued that four of Volkswagen’s core German assembly plants were too expensive to justify making cars in the 2030s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The Clippers are howling in protest, vehemently rejecting the league’s conclusions and stating they’ve been railroaded by a “heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Although the findings were statistically significant, they were not large enough to justify major changes in an individual's daily habits.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026

Wait, did she just use me to justify her traitorous actions?

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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

That justifies a premium of a few percentage points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

We could rearrange the portfolios differently to tamp down the risk, selecting companies that are not projected to grow so quickly, but the current market environment justifies the risk — and will reward it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Looking to add to their 2010 triumph, Spain would hope Yamal, who will turn 19 on the eve of the tie, picks the semi-final to deliver a performance that justifies his talent.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Painting a picture that justifies her opinion of him—an underdog cursed with an ungrateful son upon whom he has showered love and concern, only to be infamously treated by that son in return.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

"And then you somehow find yourself in a situation where you can set up a museum and a hoarder is justified as a professional curator."

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

A move justified on those grounds invites the obvious follow-up: how much higher?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Denton and her colleagues decided to test whether that assumption was justified.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

Ultimately, it’s a lost cause, because his fears are justified.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

The names of the dead were as important as the names of the living, as every loss from disease and suicide—and the other mishaps labeled as such for accounting purposes—needed to be justified to employers.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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 majority didn’t issue an opinion justifying its ruling.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

Those include the potential for renewed fighting in the Middle East and worries that the AI build-out won’t yield profits justifying companies’ massive expenditures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

I listen to myself ramble on and on, explaining why she and Nate are wrong, justifying things the way Dad trained me.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

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