Justify: meaning, definitions and examples

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justify

 

[ ˈdʒʌstɪˌfaɪ ]

Verb / Noun
Oxford 3000
Context #1 | Verb

legal

To show or prove to be right or reasonable.

Synonyms

substantiate, support, validate, vindicate

Examples of usage

  • His actions were justified by his belief in self-defense.
  • The company tried to justify the price increase with rising production costs.
Context #2 | Verb

general

To be a good reason for something.

Synonyms

merit, validate, warrant

Examples of usage

  • The strong sales figures justify the decision to expand the business.
  • Her hard work and dedication justify her promotion to manager.
Context #3 | Noun

typography

The spacing of words and letters in a line of text so that it is aligned on both the left and right margins.

Synonyms

align, even, neaten, rationalize

Examples of usage

  • The designer adjusted the justify settings to create a clean and professional look for the document.

Translations

Translations of the word "justify" in other languages:

🇵🇹 justificar

🇮🇳 औचित्य सिद्ध करना

🇩🇪 rechtfertigen

🇮🇩 membenarkan

🇺🇦 виправдовувати

🇵🇱 uzasadniać

🇯🇵 正当化する (せいとうかする)

🇫🇷 justifier

🇪🇸 justificar

🇹🇷 haklı çıkarmak

🇰🇷 정당화하다 (정당화하다)

🇸🇦 برر

🇨🇿 ospravedlnit

🇸🇰 ospravedlniť

🇨🇳 证明 (zhèngmíng)

🇸🇮 upravičiti

🇮🇸 réttlæta

🇰🇿 ақтау

🇬🇪 გამართლება (gamartleba)

🇦🇿 haqq qazandırmaq

🇲🇽 justificar

Etymology

The word 'justify' originated from the Latin word 'justificare', which is a combination of 'justus' meaning 'just' or 'right' and 'facere' meaning 'to make'. The concept of justification has been present in various fields such as philosophy, law, and typography. In typography, justification refers to the alignment of text to create a visually appealing layout. Over time, 'justify' has evolved to encompass the idea of proving something to be right or reasonable in a broader context.

See also: injustice, injustly, just, justice, justly, unjust, unjustifiable, unjustly.

Word Frequency Rank

Ranking #3,352, this word is part of upper-intermediate vocabulary. While not among the most basic terms, it appears often enough to be valuable for advanced communication.