justify

«justify» in Mova's school dictionary: To give a good reason for something; to show that it is… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

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 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

• 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.