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justificatory

justificatory

8.8
Gives reasons to show why something is right or okay
  • adjective
  • /ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪtəri/
translation icon : justificatorio
  • In her speech, she outlined several justificatory reasons for the policy changes being proposed.
  • justificatory requirement

Examples

  • Contemporary political choices ought not to be guided by a justificatory strategy built on the language of what are taken to be God's historical promises.

    Academic text (1995)
  • So rule-of-law considerations do not necessarily tell the whole justificatory story.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Do property rights pose a special justificatory problem?

    Academic text (1990)
  • In many of these cases, no sensory experience is playing justificatory roles.

    Blog text (31)
  • Its justificatory role could not be clearer.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In his wonderful book Praise and Blame, Daniel Robinson poses several questions that any justificatory account of punishment must answer.

    Academic text (2003)
  • We can now address two longstanding questions about restitution as a justificatory theory of punishment.

    Academic text (2003)
  • A humanist approach is skeptical about the justificatory arguments of those religions that claim access to a divine order.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Arguments for private property based on a tale about original acquisition in long-ago times seem, indeed, to be a justificatory embarrassment.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Such resources sustain the "spirit of capitalism"—the justificatory mechanisms that compel participation and deflect critique.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

justificative
vsjustificatory
8.9

Giving a reason to defend or explain something

is the same in meaning and use, appearing as an alternate form
vindicatory
vsjustificatory
9.9

Showing that a person is not guilty of a wrong

is broader, offering general reasons rather than clearing blame

Antonyms

24 7.5

People cannot show a decision or action is right when others criticize it

You cannot show it is right or acceptable

How Defensive

defensive
346 3.8
justificatory
8.8
explanatory
28 3.8
apologetic
28 3.7

Surface Forms

justificatory positive

Morphology

justificatory = justify (transparent) = justific + atory

A regular deverbal adjective formation using the suffix '-atory' so learners who know 'justify' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word justificatory comes from the root just meaning 'right' or 'fair' and a part like -ify meaning 'to make', like in justice and justify. So a justificatory statement tries to 'make' something seem right by giving reasons or defending it.