justify
part of speech
verb (justify, justifies, justified, justifying)
meaning for a pupil
1) To give a good reason for something; to show that it is right or fair. tree →
2) To be a good reason for something, as in «Nothing justifies hitting». tree →
3) (computing) To line up text so both edges are straight. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah it means to declare the innocent person in the right, as a court does, not to make excuses. In Job and Isaiah it is used the same way: Job refuses to declare his friends right, and Isaiah condemns judges who acquit the wicked for a bribe. Interpretation: Tradition teaches that a court must acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty. God Himself will not declare the guilty innocent, and judges who take bribes are sharply rebuked. In the primary lessons: In maths and science exams: «Justify your answer» means explain your reasoning with facts, numbers or working. In debates and stories: characters justify their actions. Phrases: justify your answer, the ends justify the means.
examples
- Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked. (Torah EXO.23.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them, by justifying the righteous, and condemning the wicked, (Torah DEU.25.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- If thou hast any thing to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify thee. (Writings JOB.33.32, JPS 1917) tree →
- That justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! (Prophets ISA.5.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- Far be it from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me. (Writings JOB.27.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- Justify your answer with a calculation. tree →
- How can you justify spending all your money on sweets? tree →
- Nothing can justify bullying. tree →
- She justified her choice by showing the data. tree →
- Can you justify why 0.5 is bigger than 0.25? tree →
- Justify the text in your report. tree →
- The little boy made no further attempt to justify his conduct. tree →
note
Spelling: justify → justifies, justified. Noun: justification. In maths, justifying means showing why, not just repeating the answer.
In the corpora
- Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.
- That justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
- Put Me in remembrance, let us plead together; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
- And enter not into judgment with Thy servant; for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified.
- He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, even they both are an abomination to the LORD.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «justify» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.