as in excuse
an explanation that frees one from fault or blame
offered a weak justification for why he was so late
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Recent Examples of justification
Other justifications cited include the strength of the development team, a local appetite for tennis courts, the project’s public access features and the prospect of an elite athlete adding brand cachet to the effort.
—
Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2025
Wearing Burton will have been easier for Kate while the designer was at famous British brand Alexander McQueen, but Macron's visit gave her the perfect justification to go back to one of her favorite designers.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025
Murray and the families had tried to use the order as justification to open claims against Free Speech Systems, which Lopez said cannot be done as the order had already served its intended purpose.
—Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 5 July 2025
The story posted yesterday about Adam and Tatis joining Manny Machado as All-Stars, includes some justification for Tatis being an All-Star despite his struggles the past two-plus months.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for justification
Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2025
Wearing Burton will have been easier for Kate while the designer was at famous British brand Alexander McQueen, but Macron's visit gave her the perfect justification to go back to one of her favorite designers.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025
Murray and the families had tried to use the order as justification to open claims against Free Speech Systems, which Lopez said cannot be done as the order had already served its intended purpose.
—Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 5 July 2025
The story posted yesterday about Adam and Tatis joining Manny Machado as All-Stars, includes some justification for Tatis being an All-Star despite his struggles the past two-plus months.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for justification
Recent Examples of Synonyms for justification
Noun
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The Turkish leader has also used the 2016 coup attempt against him as an excuse to pull apart the rule of law and any vestiges of institutional governance in Turkey.—
Jesse Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
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But that's absolutely no excuse, because intent doesn't excuse ignorance.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
13 July 2025
Noun
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Law enforcement determined the child is not a runaway, and a custody dispute is not the sole reason for requesting an activation.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
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The top reason students opt not to pursue higher education is cost, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board states, though having a degree can drastically increase earnings.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Justification.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/justification. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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