justify — OET

justify

verb

1 marketing directors were pressed to justify the expenditure:

give grounds for, give reasons for, give a justification for, show just cause for, explain, give an explanation for, account for, show/prove to be reasonable, provide a rationale for, rationalize;

defend, answer for, vindicate, substantiate, uphold, sustain;

establish, legitimize, legitimatize.

2 the situation was grave enough to justify further investigation:

warrant, be good reason for, be a justification for;

bear out, confirm, validate.

justify Oxford Dictionary of English