justify

(jŭs'tə-fī')

v., -fied, -fy·ing, -fies.

v.tr.

1. To demonstrate or prove to be just, right, or valid: justified each budgetary expense as necessary; anger that is justified by the circumstances.
2. To declare free of blame; absolve.
3. To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin. Used of God.
4. Law.
   1. To demonstrate sufficient legal reason for (an action taken).
   2. To prove to be qualified as a bondsman.
5. Printing. To adjust the spacing within (lines in a document, for example), so that the lines end evenly at a straight margin.

v.intr. Printing
To be adjusted in spacing so as to end evenly at the margin.

[Middle English justifien, from Old French justifier, from Late Latin iūstificāre, from Latin, to act justly toward : iūstus, just; see just¹ + -ficāre, -fy.]

SYNONYMS   justify, warrant. These verbs mean to be a proper or sufficient reason for: an outburst justified by extreme provocation; drastic measures not warranted by the circumstances.

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(1) To shift the contents of a field or register to the right or left.

(2) To align text evenly between left and right margins.

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verb

1. To show to be just, right, or valid: excuse, rationalize, vindicate. Idioms: make a case for. See right/wrong.
2. To be a proper or sufficient occasion for: call for, occasion, warrant. See right/wrong.
3. To assure the certainty or validity of: attest, authenticate, back (up), bear out, confirm, corroborate, evidence, substantiate, testify (to), validate, verify, warrant. See support/oppose, true/false.
4. To support against arguments, attack, or criticism: apologize, defend, maintain, vindicate. Idioms: speak up for, stand up for, stick up for. See support/oppose.
5. To offer reasons for or a cause of: account for, explain, rationalize. See explain/baffle.

IN BRIEF: To demonstrate to be fair or right.

He showed the pages of poetry he had written so as to justify why he had stayed up all night.

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For a list of words related to justify, see:

• Software, Languages, and Programming - justify: (vb) align text against right and/or left margins
• Printing and Typefaces - justify: (vb) line up margins evenly in type column

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See words rhyming with "justify."

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - retfærdiggøre, undskylde, begrunde, bevise
v. intr. - justere

Nederlands (Dutch)
rechtvaardigen, verdedigen, de juistheid van iets aantonen, uitvullen (tekst)

Français (French)
v. tr. - justifier, légitimer (d'une action), prouver le bien fondé de (d'une décision), se justifier, (Typ, Comput) justifier (un texte), (Comput) cadrer (un texte, des données)
v. intr. - (Jur) prouver le bien-fondé de, autoriser (qn) à donner une caution

Deutsch (German)
v. - beweisen, rechtfertigen, justieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - δικαιολογώ, αιτιολογώ, δικαιώνω

Italiano (Italian)
giustificare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - justificar

Русский (Russian)
оправдывать, подтверждать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - justificar, disculpar, vindicar, dar razón de
v. intr. - justificarse, estar igualado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - försvara, rättfärdiga, urskulda, bevisa, verifiera

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
替...辩护, 证明, 证明合法

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 替...辯護, 證明
v. intr. - 證明合法

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 의화하다, 변명하다
v. intr. - 보석 보증인이 되다, 행의 길이에 꼭 맞게 들어가다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 正当化する, 弁明する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) برر, سوغ, التمس عذرا ل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הצדיק, הסביר, זיכה, סלח, הוכיח נכונות של טענה, הכריז על (אדם) כצדיק (דת)‬
v. intr. - ‮מילא (שורת דפוס) באופן שווה, שימש כערבות לשחרור ממשפט‬

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