justified

The word “justified” means having a good reason; shown to be right or reasonable. In plain terms, reasonable and defensible, or, for text, evenly aligned on both edges.

“Justified” is pronounced JUHS-tih-fyd (/ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪd/ in IPA).

Here is “justified” used in a sentence: “Given the circumstances, her frustration was completely justified.”

The opposite of “justified” — its antonyms — is unjustified.

“Justified” is an adjective.

“Justified” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Justified” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: having a good reason; shown to be right or reasonable.

Justified describes something that has a good reason behind it and has been shown to be right, while justifiable describes something that could be defended with reasons, whether or not it has been. In short, justifiable points to potential, justified to established fact.

Both mean supported by good reasons, but warranted leans toward being necessary or authorized by the circumstances, while justified leans toward being shown to be morally or logically right. A police search may be warranted; a complaint may be justified.

Justified alignment gives documents a clean, formal, block-like appearance, which is why books and newspapers use it, usually together with hyphenation. In narrow columns or without hyphenation it can create distracting gaps between words, so left alignment is often the safer choice on screen.