01 v. t. To prove or show to be just; to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty.
imp. & p. p.
Justified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Justifying
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1.
To prove or show to be just; to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty.“That to the height of this great argument I may assert eternal providence, And justify the ways of God to men.” — Milton.“Unless the oppression is so extreme as to justify revolution, it would not justify the evil of breaking up a government.” — E. Everett.
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2.
To pronounce free from guilt or blame; to declare or prove to have done that which is just, right, proper, etc.; to absolve; to exonerate; to clear.“I can not justify whom the law condemns.” — Shak.
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3.
To treat as if righteous and just; to pardon; to exculpate; to absolve.(Theol.)“By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” — Acts xiii. 39.
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4.
To prove; to ratify; to confirm.[Obs.]
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5.
To make even or true, as lines of type, by proper spacing; to align (text) at the left (left justify) or right (right justify) margins of a column or page, or at both margins; to adjust, as type. See Justification, 4.(Print.) See: Justification
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6.
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.(Law)“The production of bail in court, who there justify themselves against the exception of the plaintiff.” — Bouvier's Law Dict.