Definitions of justify [ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪ]

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Definition of 'justify'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (v.t.) justify
to show or prove to be just, right, or reasonable:
The pleasure we get from these paintings justifies their high cost.

2.  justify
to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded:
Don't try to justify his rudeness.

3.  justify
to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.

4.  justify
to space out words or characters in (one or more lines of type), esp. to produce an even margin.

5. (v.i.) justify
to show that what was done was legally warranted.

6.  justify
to qualify as bail or surety.

7.  justify
(of a line of type) to fit exactly into a desired length.

Etymology: (1250–1300; ME < OF justifier < LL jūstificāre= L jūsti-, comb. form of jūstusjust¹+-ficāre -fy)

Definition of 'justify'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (verb) justify, warrant
show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
"The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns"; "The end justifies the means"

2. (verb) justify, vindicate
show to be right by providing justification or proof
"vindicate a claim"

3. (verb) apologize, apologise, excuse, justify, rationalize, rationalise
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
"rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"

4. (verb) absolve, justify, free
let off the hook
"I absolve you from this responsibility"

5. (verb) justify
adjust the spaces between words
"justify the margins"

Definition of 'justify'

Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary

1. (verb) justify
to give a good reason for
Does her desperation justify her killing someone?

Definition of 'justify'

Webster Dictionary

1. (adj) justify
to prove or show to be just; to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty

2. (adj) justify
to pronounce free from guilt or blame; to declare or prove to have done that which is just, right, proper, etc.; to absolve; to exonerate; to clear

3. (adj) justify
to treat as if righteous and just; to pardon; to exculpate; to absolve

4. (adj) justify
to prove; to ratify; to confirm

5. (adj) justify
to make even or true, as lines of type, by proper spacing; to adjust, as type. See Justification, 4

6. (verb) justify
to form an even surface or true line with something else; to fit exactly

7. (verb) justify
to take oath to the ownership of property sufficient to qualify one's self as bail or surety

Translation of 'justify'

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

Sense: to prove or show (a person, action, opinion etc) to be just, right, desirable or reasonable How can the government justify the spending of millions of pounds on weapons when there is so much poverty in the country?
Afrikaans: regverdig, verdedig, goed	Arabic: يُبَرِّر، يُسَوِّغ	Bulgarian: доказвам
Brazilian: justificar	Czech: ospravedlnit	German: rechtfertigen
Danish: retfærdiggøre	Greek: δικαιολογώ, δικαιώνω	Spanish: justificar
Estonian: põhjendama	Farsi: توجیه کردن؛ موجه نشان داد	Finnish: perustella
French: justifier	Hebrew: לְהַצדִיק	Hindi: उचित ठहराना
Croatian: opravdati	Hungarian: igazol	Indonesian: membuktikan kebenaran
Icelandic: réttlæta	Italian: giustificare	Japanese: 正当化する
Korean: 적법성의 근거를 보이다	Lithuanian: pateisinti	Latvian: attaisnot
Malay: memberikan alasan yang ku	Dutch: rechtvaardigen	Norwegian: forsvare, rettferdiggjøre
Polish: usprawiedliwiać	Persian: توجیه کردن؛ موجه نشان داد	Pashto: عادلانه حق ثابتول، سم ښود
Portuguese: justificar	Romanian: a explica	Russian: объяснять
Slovak: opodstatniť, oprávniť, os	Slovenian: utemeljiti	Serbian: opravdati
Swedish: försvara, rättfärdiga	Thai: แสดงให้เห็นถึง	Turkish: haklı göstermek/çıkarmak
Taiwanese: 證明...是對的，正當的或合理的	Ukrainian: підтверджувати	Urdu: درست برحق ثابت کرنا
Vietnamese: bào chữa	Chinese: 证明...是正当的
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