Word family noun justification adjective justifiable ≠ unjustifiable justified ≠ unjustified verb justify adverb justifiably ≠ unjustifiably
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishjustifiedjus‧ti‧fied /ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪd/ ●●○ AWL adjective 1 REASONhaving an acceptable explanation or reason In the Chief Constable’s view, the use of force was fully justified.justified in doing something Under the circumstances, the principal was justified in expelling this student.2 → right/left justifiedExamples from the Corpus
justified• A few of his complaints were justified.• I don't think Colin's criticisms were really justified.• The landlord may be justified in charging for any additional work that needs to be done.• The government feels justified in using military force to protect its own citizens.justified in doing something• Do you think I'm justified in refusing?• In these circumstances the Committee felt justified in insisting that the new requirement be met.• Leave aside, for the moment, the question of whether it was justified in principle.• That eighteenth-century generals and governments were justified in the attention they gave to this problem is clear.• That is why we feel justified in saying that Realism has held sway for the last forty years.• Therefore we are not justified in using it for a quality of material things.• We are justified in using it for a quality of material things only if the quality is like the bodily sensation.• Whether Fry was justified in his interpretations of Cézanne is not our present question.• While such mentalistic constructions may sound implausible at first sight, they are justified in three ways. 