How to pronounce “justify”
Say “justify” in 3 beats
justify
/ˈdʒʌstəˌfaɪ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dʒʌstɪfaɪ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- jusdʒʌstress
- tifstə
- yfaɪ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈdʒʌstəˌfaɪ/
- IPA (British)
- /dʒʌstɪfaɪ/
- Respelling
- JU-stuh-fy
- Syllables
- 3 — JUS-tif-y
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: JUS-tif-y. “jus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈdʒʌstəˌfaɪ/
/dʒʌstɪfaɪ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “justify” means
- verb
show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
“The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns”
- verb
show to be right by providing justification or proof
“vindicate a claim”
- verb
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
“rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior”
Say it in a sentence
“It is hard to justify the cost of a second car.”“justify”, answered
How do you pronounce “justify”?
“justify” is pronounced /ˈdʒʌstəˌfaɪ/ (JU-stuh-fy) in American English and /dʒʌstɪfaɪ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “jus”. Build it as JUS-tif-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “justify” have?
3: jus · tif · y. The beat lands on the first, “jus”.
Is “justify” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈdʒʌstəˌfaɪ/ (JU-stuh-fy); British English says /dʒʌstɪfaɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “justify” mean?
As a verb: show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for For example: “The emergency does not warrant all of us buying guns” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “justify”?
Stress the first syllable: JUS-tif-y. “jus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “justify” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.