justification

[ juhs-tuh-fi-key-shuh n ]
/ ˌdʒʌs tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

a reason, fact, circumstance, or explanation that justifies or defends: His insulting you was ample justification for you to leave the party.
an act of justifying: The painter's justification of his failure to finish on time didn't impress me.
the state of being justified.
Also called justification by faith. Theology. the act of God whereby humankind is made or accounted just, or free from guilt or penalty of sin.
Printing. the spacing of words and letters within a line of type so that all full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right.

Origin of justification

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin jūstificātiōn- (stem of jūstificātiō), equivalent to jūstificāt(us), past participle of jūstificāre justify (see justificatory) + -iōn- -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM justification

pre·jus·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun re·jus·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun su·per·jus·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun

Example sentences from the Web for justification

British Dictionary definitions for justification

justification
/ (ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

reasonable grounds for complaint, defence, etc
the act of justifying; proof, vindication, or exculpation
theol
  1. the act of justifying
  2. the process of being justified or the condition of having been justified
Also called: justification by faith Protestant theol the doctrine that God vindicates only those who repent and believe in Jesus
printing computing the process of adjusting interword spacing in text or data so that both right and left margins are straight
computing the process of moving data right or left so that the first or last character occurs in a predefined position