Justified Text and a Justified Decision
To justify is to show that something is right or reasonable. In typesetting it means to line up both margins, and the two senses are related.
To justify is to give good reasons for something. Printing uses the same word for a different job: justified text is spaced so both margins line up straight. The link is the Latin *iustus*, right or exact — one sense makes an argument correct, the other makes a line the correct length.
- To show something is right or reasonable. *Justify the expense.*
- To be a good enough reason for. *The results justify the effort.*
- To align text to both margins. *Justified text.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | justify | Justify your answer. |
| Past | justified | Fully justified. |
| Noun | justification | No justification for it. |
| Adjective | justifiable | Justifiable caution. |
| Adverb | justifiably | Justifiably angry. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Nothing justifies that response.The moral sense.
- The ends do not justify the means.A proverb about method mattering.
- Set the paragraph to justified.Typography.
Text alignment options
- Left aligned — straight left edge, ragged right
- Right aligned — the reverse
- Justified — both edges straight, spacing adjusted
- Centred — each line centred, both edges ragged
- Rivers — the white gaps that can run down badly justified text
From Old French *justifier*, from Latin *iustificare*, to do justice to, from *iustus*, just, and *facere*, to make. The printing sense dates from the sixteenth century, when type was set by hand.
Is justified text easier to read?
Not always. Without careful hyphenation it creates uneven word spacing and visible rivers of white, which slow reading.
Justify or explain?
Explaining says why something happened. Justifying argues that it was right.