Justifiable

How to spell justifiable

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce justifiable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does justifiable mean?

1. adjectiveAble to be shown to be right, reasonable, or defensible.

Justifiable in a sentence

• The manager argued that the extra spending was entirely justifiable.

• Firing an employee without warning is rarely justifiable in court.

Where does justifiable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective iustus, meaning 'lawful', 'right', or 'fair', which itself grew from ius, the Latin word for 'law' or 'legal right'. From iustus, medieval Latin formed the verb iustificare, literally 'to make right' or 'to show to be just', combining iustus with facere 'to make or do'. English borrowed this through Old French as 'justify' in the 1300s, and the adjective 'justifiable' followed by adding the suffix -able, meaning 'capable of being'. The spelling trap lives in the join: the verb 'justify' ends in -y, but when -able is added the y softens to an i, giving 'justifiable' rather than the wrongly imagined 'justifyable'. The same iustus root quietly powers a whole family of legal words including 'justice', 'just', and 'adjust'.

How the word is built

• just (right, lawful)
• -ify (to make)
• -able (capable of being)