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).

---

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

---

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

Lee called the results a “bad combination,” adding that “the continued cash burn gets harder to justify without monetization or the core business growing to compensate for it.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

“It just became harder to justify staying for all the responsible adult reasons,” he told me, when it was compromising his day-to-day happiness.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Muse, though, likely won’t be enough to justify all the capital spending—and debt—that has transformed the company’s financial makeup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Kenningham of Capital Economics predicted there would be "no lifeline for France" at Thursday's meeting, saying spreads between French and German bonds, the eurozone benchmark, would need to widen far more to justify any action.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

It was a cloudless day in late September, cold enough to justify a coat, but warm enough that a sleeved dress with tights could be managed.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

But when asked why he keeps doing it, he said the end justifies the means.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

It justifies the name change by saying that the deepest part of the lake is on the American side, meaning that the United States "claims most of the Lake's volume."

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

MarketWatch Picks: ‘My assets have grown nicely, though I don’t know that it justifies the annual cost of 0.5%.’

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 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

AI optimists say that there is no bubble because leading companies’ valuations are justified, and that the technology will eventually generate massive profits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

For a while, the service justified my enthusiasm.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

The child's family disputes that the shooting was justified.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

The fundraising efforts come as AI companies’ profitability draws heightened scrutiny from some investors who question whether massive capital spending will translate into sustainable profits and if soaring valuations are justified.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Cortes believed that the military conquest of the Alliance had to be accompanied and justified by an equivalent spiritual conquest.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

In Brazil, those who miss an election without justifying their absence face a fine of less than $1.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

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

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

I wandered more north than west, justifying my course by a curiosity to see the Sinoth Valley region, the locus of the rivalry between Karhide and Orgoreyn.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---