American English pronunciation
How to pronounce justify
IPA transcription: ['dʒʌstə,faɪ]
Hear “justify” pronounced
['dʒʌstə,faɪ]
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['dʒʌstə,faɪ]
Quality: 0.98
['dʒʌstə,faɪ]
Quality: 0.98
Verb
-
show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
“The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns”
“The end justifies the means”
-
show to be right by providing justification or proof
“vindicate a claim”
-
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
“rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior”
“he rationalized his lack of success”
-
let off the hook
“I absolve you from this responsibility”
-
adjust the spaces between words
“justify the margins”
Usage examples
- He proceeded to justify his usurpation by repelling the foreign invaders of the Empire.
- This was considered too few to justify sales to a network or to syndication.
- We simply can't justify the expense.
- It was impossible to justify the actions he'd taken earlier on that hot, summer day.
- They saw much to interest, but nothing to justify inquiry.
- Some Israelis justify acts of political violence.
- Can you quote a reliable source to justify that?
- We simply can't justify the expense.
- I have only come to justify myself.
- Exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.