Justify vs. Define — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Justify and Define
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Compare with Definitions
Justify
To demonstrate or prove to be just, right, or valid
Justified each budgetary expense as necessary.
Anger that is justified by the circumstances.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
State or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of
The contract will seek to define the client's obligations
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin. Used of God.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
Mark out the boundary or limits of
The river defines the park's boundary
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To demonstrate sufficient legal reason for (an action taken).
Mar 20, 2023
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Define
To state the precise meaning of (a word or sense of a word, for example).
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To prove to be qualified as a bondsman.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To describe the nature or basic qualities of; explain
Define the properties of a new drug.
A study that defines people according to their median incomes.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To format (a paragraph, for example) so that the lines of text begin and end evenly at a straight margin.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To make clear the outline or form of; delineate
Gentle hills that were defined against the sky.
Mar 20, 2023
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Justify
(transitive) To provide an acceptable explanation for.
How can you justify spending so much money on clothes?
Paying too much for car insurance is not justified.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To specify distinctly
Define the weapons to be used in limited warfare.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(transitive) To be a good, acceptable reason for; warrant.
Nothing can justify your rude behaviour last night.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To give form or meaning to
"For him, a life is defined by action" (Jay Parini).
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(transitive) To arrange (text) on a page or a computer screen such that the left and right ends of all lines within paragraphs are aligned.
The text will look better justified.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To make or write a definition.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(transitive) To absolve, and declare to be free of blame or sin.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
The defining power of an optical instrument
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(reflexive) To give reasons for one’s actions; to make an argument to prove that one is in the right.
She felt no need to justify herself for deciding not to invite him.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
(obsolete) To settle, decide an argument etc.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To prove; to ratify; to confirm.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To express the essential nature of something.
I define myself as a techno-anarchist.
Your past mistakes do not define who you are.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(legal) To show (a person) to have had a sufficient legal reason for an act that has been made the subject of a charge or accusation.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol.
The textbook defined speed as velocity divided by time.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
(legal) To qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression.
Person 1: Is she good at math?
Person 2: Define "good." If you mean if she is faster than the average middle schooler at multiplication, then yes. If you mean if she is able to do multivariable calculus, then no.
Person 2: Define "good." If you mean if she is faster than the average middle schooler at multiplication, then yes. If you mean if she is able to do multivariable calculus, then no.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To prove or show to be just; to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty.
That to the height of this great argumentI may assert eternal providence,And justify the ways of God to men.
Unless the oppression is so extreme as to justify revolution, it would not justify the evil of breaking up a government.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.
To define the legal boundaries of a property
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To pronounce free from guilt or blame; to declare or prove to have done that which is just, right, proper, etc.; to absolve; to exonerate; to clear.
I can not justify whom the law condemns.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
(mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To treat as if righteous and just; to pardon; to exculpate; to absolve.
By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
(programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To prove; to ratify; to confirm.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To make even or true, as lines of type, by proper spacing; to align (text) at the left (left justify) or right (right justify) margins of a column or page, or at both margins; to adjust, as type. See Justification, 4.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To show (a person) to have had a sufficient legal reason for an act that has been made the subject of a charge or accusation.
The production of bail in court, who there justify themselves against the exception of the plaintiff.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument.
Rings . . . very distinct and well defined.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To form an even surface or true line with something else; to fit exactly.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To determine the precise signification of; to fix the meaning of; to describe accurately; to explain; to expound or interpret; as, to define a word, a phrase, or a scientific term.
They define virtue to be life ordered according to nature.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
To take oath to the ownership of property sufficient to qualify one's self as bail or surety.
Mar 20, 2023
Define
To determine; to decide.
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
Show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for;
The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns
The end justifies the means
Mar 20, 2023
Define
Give a definition for the meaning of a word;
Define `sadness'
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
Show to be right by providing justification or proof;
Vindicate a claim
Mar 20, 2023
Define
Determine the essential quality of
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
Defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning;
Rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior
He rationalized his lack of success
Mar 20, 2023
Define
Determine the nature of;
What defines a good wine?
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
Let off the hook;
I absolve you from this responsibility
Mar 20, 2023
Define
Delineate the form or outline of;
The tree was clearly defined by the light
The camera could define the smallest object
Mar 20, 2023
Justify
Adjust the spaces between words;
Justify the margins
Mar 20, 2023
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