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jus·ti·fy
 justify
- pronunciation:
- juh
stih
faI
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
justified, justifies, justifying |
| definition 1: |
to demonstrate (something) to be true or valid.
You'll need solid evidence to justify your claim.- synonyms:
- back, demonstrate, evince, prove, substantiate, vindicate
- similar words:
- alibi, confirm, corroborate, defend, explain, legitimize, support, uphold, validate, verify
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| definition 2: |
to give reasonable grounds for or attest to the rightness of; warrant.
He justified his decision to stay, saying it was best for his wife and children.He justified eating a big dinner by reminding himself that he hadn't had lunch.She tried to justify her betrayal of her friend, but in the end she could not rid herself of guilt.- synonyms:
- back, defend, demonstrate, evince, legitimize, substantiate, warrant
- similar words:
- account, alibi, assert, authorize, corroborate, explain, rationalize, support, uphold, vindicate
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| definition 3: |
to absolve of sin or error; declare or make free of blame or guilt.
He's done many good things, but it doesn't justify him in his actions in this case.- synonyms:
- absolve, clear, exculpate, exonerate, vindicate
- similar words:
- acquit, alibi, excuse, forgive, pardon, redeem
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| definition 4: |
to make (margins or lines of type) even throughout a text by setting the spacing of each line.
The word processing program justifies the margins for you automatically.- similar words:
- margin, space
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| related words: |
apologize, clear, establish, maintain, substantiate, sustain |
| derivation: |
justified (adj.) |
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