verb · academic
justify
/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/JU·sti·fy
Band 5-6task2speaking
to give reasons or evidence to show that something is right or reasonable
Examples
“In Task 2, you must justify your opinion with evidence.”
“He tried to justify his absence with a doctor's note.”
“The company could not justify the extra cost to shareholders.”
Band 8 sentence
“To achieve a higher band in Task 2, you must not only state your opinion but also justify it with credible evidence and logical reasoning.”
Collocations
- justify an opinion
- cannot justify
- justify the decision
Word family
justify verbjustification nounjustified adjectivejustifiable adjective
Common mistakes
prove my opinion→justify my opinion
I need to justify about my choice→I need to justify my choice
Say it for a higher band
5prove→6give reasons→7+justify
Synonyms
defend
explain
Easily confused
defend
“She defended her answer against several criticisms.”
Related words
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In -ify
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