释义 |
jus·ti·fy \ˈjəstəˌfī\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English justifien, from Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French justifier, from Old French, from Late Latin justificare, from Latin justus just + -ficare -fy — more at just transitive verb 1. a. (1) : to prove or show to be just, desirable, warranted, or useful : vindicate < science justifies itself when it contributes to the desire to know — Scientific American Reader > < justified to herself his every fault — Ruth Park > < most cats must justify themselves by catching mice — Charlton Laird > < justify the ways of God to man — John Milton > < undertaking to justify a single scale of rates for the entire country — Collier's Year Book > < the welcome he received justified his visit — A.R.Forde > (2) obsolete : to confirm, maintain, or acknowledge as true, lawful, or legitimate b. : to prove or show to be valid, sound, or conforming to fact or reason : furnish grounds or evidence for : confirm, support, verify < their immediate jubilant reaction has been abundantly justified by the sales — Peter Forster > < attempts to justify his definition of cartography — Geographical Journal > < insinuation of personal interest as a determining factor seems to me not justified by the facts shown — O.W.Holmes †1935 > < justified my fondest hopes — D.G.Gerahty > c. (1) : to show to have had a sufficient legal reason (as that the libel charged is true or that the trespass charged was by license of the possessor) for (an act made the subject of a charge or accusation) (2) : to qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property 2. a. archaic : to execute justice upon : administer justice to b. archaic : to pronounce free from guilt or blame : absolve < I think — or at least hope — you would have justified me — George Meredith > c. : to judge, regard, or treat as righteous, worthy of salvation, or as freed from the future penalty of sin < God justifies with his forgiveness and grace the man who comes to him — Will Herberg > 3. a. : to make level and square the body of (a typefounder's strike) b. : to set to fit the measure or space closely (as a line of type, matrices, photocomposition, typewriting) or so that all full lines are of equal length and flush right and left (as typewritten matter) c. : to cause to align evenly at the bottom (as letters of different size) d. : to adjust to fit and lock up securely (set letterpress matter) intransitive verb 1. a. : to show a sufficient lawful reason (as that the plaintiff consented to an act alleged to be a trespass) for an act done or not done b. : to qualify as bail or surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property < the surety justified on the bail bond > 2. : to accept and receive as just or righteous those who respond in wholehearted faith to God as revealed by Jesus Christ < believing with all their being that God justified through faith — John Dillenberger & Claude Welch > 3. printing a. : to be capable of or susceptible of justification b. : to become justified Synonyms: see explain, maintain |