justificar

to justify

to excuse

justificar(hoos-tee-fee-kahr)

transitive verb

1. (to prove to be right)

a. to justify

Mario justificó su enfado diciendo que había tenido un mal día.

Mario justified his behavior saying he had had a bad day.

b. to excuse

Justifiqué mi ausencia en la reunión presentando un permiso de baja.

I excused my absence in the meeting by presenting a doctor's note.

2. (to account for)

a. to explain

El profesor pidió al estudiante que justificara su respuesta en el examen.

The teacher asked the student to explain his answer on the exam.

3. (typography)

a. to justify

Nos dijeron que teníamos que justificar el texto a la izquierda.

They told us that we should justify the text to the left.

justificarse

pronominal verb

4. (to apologize)

a. to make excuses for oneself

Juan se justificó por el retraso diciendo que no le había sonado la alarma.

Juan made excuses for himself for being late saying that the alarm didn't ring.

b. to justify oneself

Cuando se te olvida algo, siempre te justificas diciendo que es mi culpa por no apuntarlo.

When you forget something, you always justify yourself by saying that it's my fault for not writing it down.

c. to excuse oneself

Si te justificas lo que dices, es porque no tienes confianza en ti mismo.

If you excuse yourself for what you say, it's because you're not confident in yourself.

5. (to make sense)

a. to be justified

Mi decisión de irme se justifica si piensas en cómo me has tratado.

My decision to leave is justified if you think of how you treated me.