Adjacent Words

Justify definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

JUST'IFY, v.t. [L. justus, just,and facio, to make.]
1. To prove or show to be just, or conformable to law, right, justice, propriety or duty; to defend or maintain; to vindicate as right. We cannot justify disobedience or ingratitude to our Maker. We cannot justify insult or incivility to our fellow men. Intemperance, lewdness, profaneness and dueling are in no case to be justified.
2. In theology, to pardon and clear form guilt; to absolve or acquit from guilt and merited punishment, and to accept as righteous on account of the merits of the Savior, or by the application of Christ's atonement to the offender.
3. To cause another to appear comparatively righteous, or less guilty than one's self. Ezek 16.
4. To judge rightly of.
Wisdom is justified by her children. Matthew 11.
5. To accept as just and treat with favor. James 2.
JUST'IFY, v.i. In printing, to agree; to suit; to conform exactly; to form an even surface or true line with something else. Types of different sizes will not justify with each other.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for; "The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns"; "The end justifies the means" [syn: justify, warrant]
2: show to be right by providing justification or proof; "vindicate a claim" [syn: justify, vindicate]
3: defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" [syn: apologize, apologise, excuse, justify, rationalize, rationalise]
4: let off the hook; "I absolve you from this responsibility" [syn: absolve, justify, free] [ant: blame, fault]
5: adjust the spaces between words; "justify the margins"

Merriam Webster's

verb (-fied; -fying) Etymology: Middle English justifien, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French justifier, from Late Latin justificare, from Latin justus Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable b. (1) to show to have had a sufficient legal reason (2) to qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property 2. a. archaic to administer justice to b. archaic absolve c. to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation 3. a. to space (as lines of text) so that the lines come out even at the margin b. to make even by justifying <justified margins> intransitive verb 1. a. to show a sufficient lawful reason for an act done b. to qualify as bail or surety 2. to justify lines of text Synonyms: see maintain • justifier noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (-ies, -ied) 1 show the justice or rightness of (a person, act, etc.). 2 demonstrate the correctness of (an assertion etc.). 3 adduce adequate grounds for (conduct, a claim, etc.). 4 a (esp. in passive) (of circumstances) be such as to justify. b vindicate. 5 (as justified adj.) just, right (am justified in assuming). 6 Theol. declare (a person) righteous. 7 Printing adjust (a line of type) to fill a space evenly. Derivatives: justification n. justificatory adj. justifier n. Etymology: ME f. F justifier f. LL justificare do justice to f. L justus JUST

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Justify Jus"ti*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Justified; p. pr. & vb. n. Justifying.] [F. justifier, L. justificare; justus just + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Just, a., and -fy.] 1. To prove or show to be just; to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty. That to the height of this great argument I may assert eternal providence, And justify the ways of God to men. --Milton. Unless the oppression is so extreme as to justify revolution, it would not justify the evil of breaking up a government. --E. Everett. 2. 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. I can not justify whom the law condemns. --Shak. 3. (Theol.) To treat as if righteous and just; to pardon; to exculpate; to absolve. By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. --Acts xiii. 39. 4. To prove; to ratify; to confirm. [Obs.] --Shak. 5. (Print.) To make even or true, as lines of type, by proper spacing; to adjust, as type. See Justification, 4. Syn: To defend; maintain; vindicate; excuse; exculpate; absolve; exonerate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Justify Jus"ti*fy, v. i. 1. (Print.) To form an even surface or true line with something else; to fit exactly.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Justify Jus"ti*fy, v. t. (Law) (a) To show (a person) to have had a sufficient legal reason for an act that has been made the subject of a change or accusation. (b) To qualify (one's self) as a surely by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property. The production of bail in court, who there justify themselves against the exception of the plaintiff. --Bouvier's Law Dict.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(justifies, justifying, justified) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. To justify a decision, action, or idea means to show or prove that it is reasonable or necessary. No argument can justify a war... Ministers agreed that this decision was fully justified by economic conditions. VERB: V n, V n 2. To justify printed text means to adjust the spaces between the words so that each line of type is exactly the same length. (COMPUTING) Click on this icon to align or justify text. VERB: V n see also left-justify, right-justify

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Vindicate, warrant, defend, maintain, exculpate, excuse, exonerate, set right. 2. (Theol.) Absolve, acquit, free from sin, clear from guilt. 3. (Printing.) Adjust.

Moby Thesaurus

absolve, account, account for, acquit, allow, amnesty, approve, argue, assert, authenticate, authorize, back, bear out, claim, clear, compose, confirm, contend, corroborate, cry sour grapes, decontaminate, defend, demonstrate, destigmatize, discharge, dismiss, dispense from, do justice to, exculpate, excuse, exempt, exempt from, exonerate, explain, explain away, extenuate, forgive, free, give absolution, gloss, grant amnesty to, grant immunity, grant remission, impose, legalize, legitimate, legitimatize, legitimize, let go, let off, make up, nonpros, overrun, palliate, pardon, permit, pi, pi a form, prove, purge, quash the charge, rationalize, rehabilitate, reinstate, release, remit, restore, sanction, set, set free, set in print, shrive, substantiate, support, sustain, uphold, validate, verify, vindicate, warrant, whitewash, withdraw the charge