unˈjustified, ppl. a.
[un-1 8.]
† 1. Not brought to justice; not punished or executed. Obs.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 5871 At þat day..loverds alswa [shall give account] of þair meigne Þe whilk þai lete uniustifyed be. 1564 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 306 He wald haif sauffit the sone of ane theif, being his tennent, unjustifiit, allegeand [him]..to be his awin. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 202 Gif it be won, nocht ane in the castel, except the king sal chaip vniustifiet. |
2. a. Not brought into a state of justification.
| 1651 Baxter Inf. Bapt. 308 If they have not Jus in re, then they are still unpardoned, and unjustified. 1661 Papers Alter. Prayer-bk. 104 Those that by living in open sin, do shew themselves to be unjustifyed. 1701 Beverley Glory of Grace 51 Let him be Unjustifyed still. 1828 Webster (citing J. M. Mason). |
b. Not cleared from a charge or imputation.
| 1678 Dryden All for Love iv. iv, I go Unjustifi'd, for ever from your sight. |
3. a. Not made exact or accurate.
| 1671–2 T. Marshall in Hart Notes Cent. Typogr. Oxf. 166, I haue examined y⊇ unjustifyed Paragon Greek matrices. |
b. With type not adjusted to fill up the line or produce an even margin.
| 1961 Webster, Unjustified,..of a line of type: not adjusted properly to fill the measure. 1963 Times 6 Mar. 9/6 The Oklahoma City Times published its regular editions today with type set entirely by computer... ‘Unjustified’ perforated tape, such as might be made by a reporter working on a special tape-producing typewriter, is fed into the computer, which cuts a perforated tape. 1971 Sci. Amer. Aug. 116/2 This 300-page book, with..its text in unjustified typescript, indexes the work of the center. 1980 C. Burke Printing Poetry iii. 32 Some..of the problems in a prose setting can be obviated by setting it ‘ragged right’, that is by leaving the right-hand margin unjustified. |
4. Not proved to be right or proper; unwarranted.
In frequent use from c 1885.
| 1685 Boyle Enq. Notion Nat. iv. 97 The boldness of these unjustified paradoxes. 1849 Cobden Speeches 27, I hope I may not be considered as unjustified by precedent. 1885 Law Times 23 May 62/1 The plaintiff's conduct..was unjustified. |