Definition of the word justify

The word "justify" has its roots in Latin. The Latin word "justificare" means "to make just" or "to declare righteous". This word is a combination of "justus", meaning "just" or "righteous", and "facere", meaning "to make" or "to do". The Latin "justificare" was used in the sense of "to declare someone or something just or righteous" and was later adopted into Middle English as "justifien". Over time, the spelling was changed to "justify", and the meaning expanded to include the idea of defending or explaining one's actions or beliefs based on reason or evidence. Today, the word "justify" can be used in a variety of contexts, including computing (e.g., "justify text" in word processing), law (e.g., "to justify a punishment"), and ethics (e.g., "to justify one's actions").