Pronunciation

/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/

Definitions

• Verb: To show or prove that something is right, reasonable, or legally acceptable; to provide a satisfactory explanation or defense for (an action or idea). For example: “The CEO had to justify the company’s decision to lay off employees.”
  • Also used in a legal context: To demonstrate that a person or their actions are legally or morally rightful. For example: “The evidence justified his claim to the property.”
• Verb (Typography): To align text along a margin or both margins so that it forms a straight line on one or both sides. For example: “The document needs to be justified to make it look professional.”

Phrases

• “Justify your actions”: Explain or defend why you did something.
• “To be justified in doing something”: To have a valid reason or grounds for taking a particular action.
• “Text justification”: The formatting process in which text is aligned evenly across both margins in a column or block of text.

Example Sentences

• Verb (general meaning): “She couldn’t justify spending so much money on clothes when she was saving for a house.”
• Verb (legal/moral meaning): “After reviewing the case, the court found that the police officer was justified in using force.”
• Verb (typography meaning): “In the print layout, all paragraphs are fully justified to create a clean, professional look.”

Synonyms

• Rationalize
• Validate
• Excuse
• Vindicate
• Exonerate
• Authenticate
• Sanction (in the sense of approve or validate)
• Align (in the typography context)