justify
Word parts
[change]Pronunciation
[change]- IPA (key): /ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: jus‧ti‧fy
Verb
[change]|
Plain form |
Third-person singular |
Past tense |
Past participle |
Present participle |
- (transitive) If you justify something that people think is bad, you explain why it was good or why it had to happen that way.
- One problem in music education is always having to justify our existence to other teachers.
- 78% of people do not think that US military action in Iraq was justified.
- Killings are always wrong, and that is why attempts to justify them are always made.
- If the ends justify the means, the way of doing something is bad, but the result is worth it.
- He feels that he can lie because the end justifies the means.
- (transitive) If you justify text, you make the left side of each line of writing line up and the same with the right side.