How to Use justify in a Sentence

justify

verb
Definition of justifynext
Synonyms for justifynext
  • The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals.
  • He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss.
  • Used to justify the murder of Black and brown people at the hands of the state.
    — Utsha G. Khatri, STAT, 27 Oct. 2023
  • And, beyond that, whether Nabers and Glover have enough to say on that theme to justify the whole show.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023
  • In Mary’s video, the teacher can be heard justifying his use of the slur.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Anchorage Daily News, 16 May 2023
  • Pelton wasn't done justifying his mark for the Suns for the deal.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 20 June 2023
  • MacAskill noted that nowhere in the E.A. canon are the means advertised to justify the ends.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2022
  • If a movie can justify the cost, studios will still make the effort.
    — Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 9 July 2024
  • Akikos is for diners who go to shows and only want to hear the hits; the food is good, but not enough to justify the price tag.
    — Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2023
  • If the agent who opened fire on the would-be thieves feared for his life, or the life of someone else, he would have been justified in the shooting.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2023
  • While the price might be hard to justify, there's no denying the quality.
    — Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 8 May 2023
  • But Dobbs played well enough to justify the 49ers keeping three quarterbacks on the active roster come the end of the month.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2024
  • Those who can justify the power supply will note that the math leaves them paying only $80 for the case.
    — PCMAG, 30 May 2024
  • Andor just doesn’t tell it very well, and certainly not enough to justify a dozen episodes of it.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2022
  • Or did the city use taxpayer funds for reasons that are hard to justify?
    — Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 25 Mar. 2024
  • So what would justify taking over the airways and sending a text to most people in all 50 states?
    — Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023
  • That should be a one-time event, which justifies dipping into the reserves.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024
  • The steep price might be hard to justify, but the brand's lifetime guarantee can give you peace of mind about your purchase.
    — Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 5 June 2023
  • In the past, those budgets were justified with movies that crossed $1 billion worldwide with ease.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 July 2023
  • And the Hamas terrorist attacks can be seen as justified in the context of 75 years of colonial rule.
    — Ross Barkan, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Only two found that the officers’ use of force was not justified.
    — Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023
  • This was a coup attempt, and Eastman’s memo was merely a thin veneer of legalese to justify it.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2023
  • High draft picks, such as McConkey, look to justify the draft capital spent on them.
    — Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
  • The guards have little power to enforce the law or the M.T.A.’s rules, which has prompted questions about whether the cost of hiring them was justified.
    — Ana Ley, New York Times, 5 June 2023
  • The $32 price tag may feel steep to some, but the pore-defeating and ultra-smoothing results are sure to justify the cost.
    — Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 14 June 2023
  • Whether James is a good enough player to justify the hullabaloo.
    — Bill Oram, oregonlive, 9 Apr. 2023
  • While pricey, the ease of setup and strong signal justify the investment.
    — Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 8 Oct. 2024
  • By contrast, even the most notable bites here – one set on and around a blimp comes to mind – hardly seem to justify consuming the whole thing.
    — Brian Lowry, CNN, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Locke’s character has a Trans Lives Matter flag up in his bedroom, one of many details that are integrated but don’t need to be pointed out or justified within the show’s narrative.
    — Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Are we justified to protect the harmful animal agriculture business because some farms are owned by families?
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'justify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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