justify

IPA/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/
KK[dʒˈʌstəfˌaɪ]IPA/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/

justify — verb

  • justifypresent simple I / you / we / they
  • justifieshe / she / it
  • justifiedpast simple
  • justifying-ing form

1. To show that an action, decision, or belief is reasonable or necessary by provid

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

To show that an action, decision, or belief is reasonable or necessary by providing good reasons for it.

Example

Sayaka tried to justify her decision by explaining the long-term benefits.

pattern: justify + noun + by + verb-ing

The success of the new policy justifies the risks the team took.

pattern: [thing] + justify + [thing justified]

Common collocations
  • justify a decision
  • justify an expense
  • justify an action
  • justify the cost
  • justify oneself (see sense 2)
Synonyms
  • defend

    More general and less formal; can mean protecting from attack or criticism, not only through reasoning.

  • warrant

    The subject itself provides the reason, rather than a person giving reasons; often used of results or facts.

  • substantiate

    More formal, focuses on providing evidence or proof rather than moral or practical reasons.

Antonyms
  • condemn

    To express strong disapproval of something, the opposite of showing it is reasonable.

  • criticize

    To point out faults in something, rather than defending it.

Grammar Patterns

justify + noun

justify + verb-ing

justify + noun + by + verb-ing

Usage Note

Common in formal and academic English. The object of justify can be a noun phrase or a gerund (-ing form), but never a to-infinitive.

Common Mistakes

The manager justified to increase the budget.
The manager justified increasing the budget.
justify is followed by a noun or gerund, not a to-infinitive.
She justified for being late.
She explained the reason for being late.
justify is transitive and needs a direct object; you cannot say 'justify for something.'

2. To defend your own actions or decisions by explaining why they were reasonable o

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

To defend your own actions or decisions by explaining why they were reasonable or necessary, especially when someone has questioned or criticised you.

Example

Aarav felt he had to justify himself after missing the team meeting.

reflexive: justify + oneself

Stop trying to justify yourself and simply admit you made a mistake.

imperative with reflexive pronoun

Common collocations
  • justify yourself
  • justify your actions
  • justify your behaviour
  • justify your decision
  • justify yourself to someone
Synonyms
  • explain

    More neutral; explaining does not carry the sense of defending against criticism.

  • account for

    Slightly more formal; focuses on giving a reason or explanation for something unexpected or wrong.

Grammar Patterns

justify + oneself

justify + possessive + noun

Usage Note

This sense almost always involves a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, etc.) or a possessive determiner (my, your, his) before the noun describing the action being defended.

Common Mistakes

He justified for being late.
He justified himself for being late.
justify is transitive; the reflexive pronoun or a direct object is required.
She didn't need to justify.
She didn't need to justify herself.
when no object is given, the reflexive form is needed to show you mean your own actions.

3. To format a block of written text so that both edges line up evenly by changing

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

To format a block of written text so that both edges line up evenly by changing the gaps between words.

Example

The report looks more professional when you justify the text on both sides.

pattern: justify + [text type] + on both sides

Most novels use fully justified text for a clean printed appearance.

Common collocations
  • justified text
  • justify a paragraph
  • justified alignment
  • fully justified
  • left-justified / right-justified (related terms)
Synonyms
  • align

    Broader term; text can be aligned left, right, centre, or justified. Justified is a specific type of alignment.

Grammar Patterns

justify + text / paragraph / line

be justified

Usage Note

Technical term used in word processing, desktop publishing, and web design. Often appears in the passive: 'The text is justified.' In computing contexts, this is also called 'full justification' to distinguish from left-aligned or right-aligned text.

Common Mistakes

I justified the photo in my document.
I justified the paragraph in my document.
justify in the typography sense only applies to text, not images or other objects.
The text is justify.
The text is justified.
use the past participle form after 'to be.'
Idioms

the end justifies the means

idiom

This phrase means that a good result makes any bad actions used to achieve it acceptable.

Maya argued that the end justifies the means in this crisis.

Do you really believe the end justifies the means for your plan?

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Justify is the most common word for showing that something is reasonable by giving good reasons. Defend is more general — you can defend a position with arguments, but you can also defend a person from physical attack. Warrant is narrower and is often used when the result or situation itself provides the reason rather than a person doing so (e.g. 'The data warrants further investigation'). Substantiate is the most formal of the four and focuses on providing evidence or proof rather than moral or practical arguments (e.g. 'He could not substantiate his claim with any documents'). In academic writing, justify is used for explaining why a method or choice is appropriate, while substantiate appears when presenting evidence. For everyday use, justify and defend are the most natural choices.

justify ↗warrant ↗defend ↗substantiate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • find it hard to justify
  • be difficult to justify
  • can be justified
  • cannot be justified

Prepositions

  • to (justify to someone)
  • by (justify by doing something)
  • for (justify for an action — in sense 2)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Justify comes from Latin justificare, formed from justus (right, just) and facere (to make). The original meaning was 'to make just or right.' It entered English through Old French justifier in the 1300s. The typography sense (sense 3) developed in the 1600s from the idea of making lines of text 'even' or 'right' at the margins.