justify
justify Lexical Profile
justify Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To show, prove, or provide a valid reason that an action, decision, or belief is right, reasonable, or necessary.
"The committee asked the director to justify the sudden increase in the project's budget."
To adjust a block of text so that the lines are flush and evenly aligned along both the left and right margins (in printing and word processing).
"Most academic publishers require authors to justify the body text only in the final typeset proofs."
To declare or make a person righteous and free from the penalty of sin in the sight of God (in Christian theology).
"A central debate of the Reformation concerned whether believers are justified by faith alone."
Word Nuance & Usage
When followed by a verb, 'justify' takes a gerund rather than an infinitive (e.g., 'justify spending the money', not 'justify to spend the money').
• Rhymes for justify
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English via Old French justifier from Late Latin justificare ('to act justly toward' or 'to make just'), a compound of Latin justus ('just, righteous') and the verb root facere ('to make, do').