American English

How to pronounce justifying

verbB2Common word
JUHStuhfaiihng

/ˈʤəs.təˌfaɪ.ɪŋ/

4 syllables · Stress the first syllable.

Related entry: justify

To give a good reason for an action, decision, or use of something.

Practice out loud

Meanings & examples

verb

To give a good reason for an action, decision, or use of something.

Can you justify this decision?

She justified leaving early by saying she felt sick.

Common phrases & grammar

justify a decision · justify an action · justify the cost · justify your behavior

justify a decision/action

justify doing something

verb

To show with facts or reasons that something is true, correct, or valid.

The data justify our conclusion.

Nothing can justify such a serious accusation.

Common phrases & grammar

justify a claim · justify a conclusion · justify the use of something

justify a claim/conclusion with evidence

evidence can justify a conclusion

verbtechnicalless common

In a word processor, to arrange text so that the lines reach both the left and right edges.

Select the paragraph and justify the text.

The report looks cleaner with fully justified text.

Good to know

In a word processor, this is different from left-aligning text, which leaves the right edge uneven.

Common phrases & grammar

justify text · fully justified text

justify the text

the text is justified

Useful expressions

justify yourself

to explain your actions and show that they were reasonable or acceptable

You do not have to justify yourself to me.

Related words & forms

The y changes to i in justifies and justified.