justify
jus·ti·fy/ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/verb
justify is spelled J-U-S-T-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (jus·ti·fy). It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, justify means “To provide an acceptable explanation for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in justify?
| Letters | 7: J-U-S-T-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: jus·ti·fy |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,679th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is justify?
Justify appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce justify?
- /ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/
Justify has 3 syllables, split jus·ti·fy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-justify.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of justify
- justifies present, singular, he/she/it
- justifying participle, present
- justified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does justify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To provide an acceptable explanation for.
How can you justify spending so much money on clothes?
- 2
To be a good reason behind a normally-unacceptable action; to warrant.
Nothing can justify your rude behaviour last night.
- 3
To arrange (text) on a page or a computer screen such that the left and right ends of all lines within paragraphs are aligned.
The text will look better justified.
- 4
To absolve, and declare to be free of blame or sin.
- 5
To give reasons for one’s actions; to make an argument to prove that one is in the right.
She felt no need to justify herself for deciding not to invite him.
- 6
To prove; to ratify; to confirm.
- 7
To show (a person) to have had a sufficient legal reason for an act that has been made the subject of a charge or accusation.
- 8
To qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Justify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | justifier |
| German | rechtfertigen , ausrichten, justieren |
| Portuguese | justificar , absolver |
| Spanish | legitimar, justificar, explicar, razonar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does justify come from?
From Middle English justifien, from Old French justifier, from Late Latin justificare (“make just”), from Latin justus, iustus (“just”) + ficare (“make”), from facere, equivalent to just + -ify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).