Justifies

How to spell justifies

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce justifies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does justifies mean?

1. verbShows or proves that something is reasonable, warranted, or correct.

Justifies in a sentence

• The steady rise in profit justifies the extra investment.

• Nothing justifies shouting at a colleague in a meeting.

Where does justifies come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin justificare, meaning 'to make right' or 'to do justice to', formed from justus 'just, lawful, righteous' and the verb facere 'to make or do'. The justus element traces back to jus, the Latin word for law or right, which also gives English 'justice', 'judge', and 'jury'. English borrowed the verb 'justify' through Old French justifier in the 1300s, originally with a strong religious and legal sense of declaring or making someone righteous in the eyes of God or the law. Over time the everyday meaning softened to 'show that something is reasonable or warranted', the sense most adults use today. The spelling 'justifies' follows the regular rule where a verb ending in a consonant plus 'y' changes the 'y' to 'i' and adds '-es', which is exactly the small trap that catches writers expecting 'justifys'.

How the word is built

• just (from justus: right, lawful)
• -ify (verb: to make)
• -es (third-person singular suffix)