justification

noun

(countable) A reason, explanation, or excuse which someone believes provides convincing, morally acceptable support for behavior or for a belief or occurrence.

(Christianity, uncountable) The forgiveness of sin.

(typography, uncountable) The alignment of text to the left margin (left justification), the right margin (right justification), or both margins (full justification).

Roots

iustusjust- · Latin · lawful, right facio-fic · Latin · make, do

Synonyms for justification

rationalen justifiabilityn rationalizationn reasonn apologian defensibilityn

Synonyms & related words for justification

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of justification — including rationale, justifiability, rationalization, reason, apologia, defensibility. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to justification

Explore words related to justification — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include justifying, justified, justifiable, exculpation, justifier, justificatory, explanation, justifies. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for justification

Common synonyms for justification include rationale, justifiability, rationalization, reason, apologia, defensibility — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does justification come from?

The word justification breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: just-, from Latin iustus (“lawful, right”); and -fic, from Latin facio (“make, do”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.