Synonyms for justify
ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪjus·ti·fy

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.4 / 7 votes

1. justify

   Synonyms:
   absolve, acquit, applaud, approve, exonerate, pardon, pardon, praise

   Antonyms:
   blame, censure, condemn, convict, denounce, doom, reprobate, reprove, sentence

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 4 votes

1. justify

   Synonyms:
   clear, vindicate, exonerate, defend, absolve, excuse

   Antonyms:
   condemn, censure, convict, criminate

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:4.3 / 7 votes

1. justify, warrantverb

   show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for

   "The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns"; "The end justifies the means"

   Synonyms:
   rationalize, absolve, free, guarantee, apologise, excuse, rationalise, vindicate, apologize, warrant

2. justify, vindicateverb

   show to be right by providing justification or proof

   "vindicate a claim"

   Synonyms:
   rationalize, absolve, free, apologise, excuse, rationalise, vindicate, apologize, warrant

3. apologize, apologise, excuse, justify, rationalize, rationaliseverb

   defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning

   "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"

   Synonyms:
   condone, apologise, explain, relieve, prune, rationalize, excuse, beg off, vindicate, warrant, cut, let off, apologize, free, rationalise, exempt, absolve, pardon

4. absolve, justify, freeverb

   let off the hook

   "I absolve you from this responsibility"

   Synonyms:
   unloose, relieve, apologise, unloosen, unblock, unfreeze, liberate, rationalize, excuse, vindicate, warrant, discharge, release, give up, apologize, rationalise, loose, disembarrass, resign, dislodge, shrive, relinquish, disengage, rid, exempt, absolve, free

5. justifyverb

   adjust the spaces between words

   "justify the margins"

   Synonyms:
   rationalize, absolve, free, apologise, excuse, rationalise, vindicate, apologize, warrant

Matched Categories

1. • Adjust
   • Printing
   • Uphold

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. justifyverb

   Synonyms:
   vindicate, warrant, defend, maintain, exculpate, excuse, exonerate, set right

2. justifyverb

   Synonyms:
   (Theol.) absolve, acquit, free from sin, clear from guilt

3. justifyverb

   Synonyms:
   (Printing.) adjust

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. justifyverb

   Synonyms:
   vindicate, warrant, excuse, exonorate, exculpate, absolve, defend

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "justify":

   warrant, substantiate, justifying, justified, motivate, legitimise, explain, justification, defend, excuse, legitimize

Suggested Resources

1. Justify

   Warrant vs Justify -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Warrant and Justify.

How to pronounce justify?

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use justify in a sentence?

1. Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield:

   Most maxim-mongers have preferred the prettiness to the justness of a thought, and the turn to the truth but I have refused myself to everything that my own experience did not justify and confirm.

2. Abraham Lincoln:

   I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false is guilty of falsehood, and the accidental truth of the assertion does not justify or excuse him.

3. Steve Bannon:

   But also on Sunday, former top White House strategist Steve Bannon told ABC's This Week that President Trump administration doesn't need to justify separating children from their parents at the border. It’s zero tolerance. I don't think you have to justify it.

4. Abu Hurriya:

   I don't justify it because I don't think you can justify it, but at the end of the day I understand how they can get to that point. They're young and vulnerable. It's the same way that a kid in the ghetto joins a gang.

5. Eliot Engel:

   To avoid having to justify its actions to Congress, The Trump administration falsely claims Congress had already authorized the strike under the 2002 Iraq war resolution. This legal theory is absurd, the 2002 authorization was passed to deal with Saddam Hussein. This law had nothing to do with Iran or Iranian government officials in Iraq. To suggest that 18 years later this authorization could justify killing an Iranian official stretches the law far beyond anything Congress ever intended.