Justice — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun /ˈjə-stəs/ jus·tice

Meaning & Definition of Justice

Justice (noun)

  1. the process or result of using laws to fairly judge cases, redress wrongs, and punish crimes
  2. judge; especially, a judge of an appellate court or court of last resort (as a supreme court) —used as a title
  3. the administration of law; especially, the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity

Justice (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the practice of giving to others what is their due or an instance of this

    "the victim's family felt that justice had been done in the case"

    similar: equity, fair shake, right
    related: equitability, equitableness, evenhandedness, fair-mindedness, fairness, impartiality, goodness, righteousness, virtue, honor, integrity, uprightness
    opposite: inequity, injustice, raw deal, wrong
    near: bias, one-sidedness, partiality, prejudice, unfairness, unjustness, wrongfulness, corruption, impropriety, crime, offense, wrongdoing, disservice, harm

  2. a public official having authority to decide questions of law

    "a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court"

    similar: adjudicator, beak (chiefly British), bench, court, judge, jurist, magistrate
    related: chief justice, circuit judge, justice of the peace, squire, auditor, master, jurisconsult, jurisprudent

  3. lack of favoritism toward one side or another

    "with scrupulous justice, the marriage counselor noted that both parties had much to atone for"

    similar: detachment, disinterest, disinterestedness, equity, evenhandedness, fair-mindedness, fairness, impartiality, neutralism, neutrality, nonpartisanship, objectiveness, objectivity
    related: apathy, indifference, unconcern, broad-mindedness, open-mindedness, tolerance, fence-sitting, straddling
    opposite: bias, favor, favoritism, nonobjectivity, one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, prejudice
    near: chauvinism, nepotism, subjectiveness, subjectivity, bent, inclination, leaning, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, preconception, prejudgment

Related Entry: Justice of the peace (noun)

Justice of the peace is a different word from Justice. The synonyms below are for justice of the peace, not for justice.

  1. as in chief justice, circuit judge

    similar: chief justice, circuit judge, squire, adjudicator, beak (chiefly British), bench, court, judge, jurist, justice, magistrate, auditor, master, jurisconsult, jurisprudent

Related Entry: Chief justice (noun)

Chief justice is a different word from Justice. The synonyms below are for chief justice, not for justice.

  1. as in circuit judge, justice of the peace

    similar: circuit judge, justice of the peace, squire, adjudicator, beak (chiefly British), bench, court, judge, jurist, justice, magistrate, auditor, master, jurisconsult, jurisprudent

Related Entry: Do (verb)

Do is a different word from Justice. The synonyms below are for do, not for justice.

  1. to be fitting or proper

    "that outfit just won't do for the opera"

    similar: befit, beseem (archaic), fit (archaic), go, serve, suit, fill the bill
    related: satisfy, suffice, function, work

  2. to be enough

    "even half of that amount of sugar will do"

    similar: serve, suffice
    related: answer, suit, assuage, content, quench, sate, satiate, satisfy

  3. to carry through (as a process) to completion

    "do as much as you can and leave the rest"

    similar: accomplish, achieve, bring off, carry off, carry out, commit, compass, execute, follow through (with), fulfill, make, negotiate, perform, perpetrate, prosecute, pull off, put through, go through
    related: bring about, effect, effectuate, implement, ace, nail, engage (in), practice, work (at), reduplicate, reenact, repeat, actualize, attain, realize, complete, end, finish, wind up
    near: fail, skimp, slight, slur

  4. to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming

    "did the living room in French provincial style"

    similar: adorn, array, beautify, bedeck, bedizen, blazon, caparison, deck, decorate, do up, doll up, drape, dress, embellish, emblaze, emboss, enrich, fancify, fancy up, festoon, garnish, glitz (up), grace, gussy up, ornament, pretty (up), trim
    related: accessorize, dress up, trap, trick (out), brighten, freshen, smarten, spruce (up), boss, chase, braid, embroider, feather, figure, filigree, fillet, flounce, frill, fringe, furbelow, garland, hang, lace, ribbon, swag, wreathe, appliqué, gild, paint, diamond, gem, impearl, jewel, pearl, redecorate, redo
    opposite: blemish, deface, disfigure, mar, scar, spoil
    near: simplify, streamline, bare, denude, dismantle, display, divest, expose, reveal, strip, uncover, uglify

  5. to meet one's day-to-day needs

    "I'm doing just fine"

    similar: cope, fare, get along, get by, get on, make out, manage, shift, fend for oneself, make do, make ends meet, make shift
    related: carry on, contrive, scrape (by or through), scrounge, last, survive, eke out, scrape (out), squeeze, wrest, wring, afford, swing
    near: collapse, fail, fall short, fizzle, flounder, decline, peter (out), slump, wane, give up

  6. to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)

    "this neighborhood cleanup effort might just do some good"

    similar: beget, breed, bring, bring about, bring on, catalyze, cause, create, draw on, effect, effectuate, engender, generate, induce, invoke, make, occasion, produce, prompt, result (in), spawn, translate (into), work, yield, bring forth, give rise to
    related: conduce (to), contribute (to), decide, determine, begin, establish, father, found, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, institute, introduce, launch, pioneer, set, set up, start, advance, cultivate, develop, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote, enact, render, turn out
    near: impede, limit, restrict, clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, dampen, put down, quash, quell, repress, smother, squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress, arrest, check, control, curb, inhibit, rein (in), restrain, retard, can (slang), kill, snuff (out), still, abolish, demolish, destroy, extinguish, liquidate, quench

  7. to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of

    "the laughing partygoers begged their host to do Marlon Brando again"

    similar: burlesque, caricature, imitate, mimic, mock, parody, send up, spoof, travesty
    related: lampoon, pasquinade, satirize, deride, gibe, ridicule, ape, copycat, monkey, parrot, duplicate, emulate, replicate, reproduce, act, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, pretend, sham, simulate, elaborate, embellish, embroider, exaggerate, magnify, pad, play up, stretch, amplify, enhance, enlarge (on or upon), expand, flesh (out), overdraw, overstate, put on, mime, pantomime, impersonate, perform, personate, play

  8. to move forward along a course

    "how are you doing with the house restoration?"

    similar: advance, come, come along, fare, forge, get along, get on, go, go along, go off, march, pace, proceed, progress, gain ground
    related: accelerate, fast-forward, speed, approach, near, journey, pass, repair, run, travel, wend, actuate, drive, impel, propel, push, take out
    opposite: remain, stand, stay, stop
    near: arrest, balk, block, check, detain, halt, hinder, hold back, impede, nip, obstruct, slow (down or up), stem, repress, retard, stunt, suppress, delay, interrupt, stall, cramp, hamper, inhibit, cease, let up, pause, regress, wait

  9. to present a portrayal or performance of

    "she's done Eliza Doolittle on the stage so many times that she can probably play the flower girl in her sleep"

    similar: act, impersonate, interpret, perform, play, portray
    related: depict, dramatize, render, represent, act out, enact, pantomime, playact, role-play, take on, overact, overplay, underplay, ape, clown, ham, imitate, masquerade, mime, mimic, pose (as), star (in), coact, costar

  10. to rob by the use of trickery or threats

    "did them out of their savings with surprising ease"

    similar: beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do in, euchre, fiddle, fleece, flimflam, gaff, hose (slang), hustle, mulct, nobble (British slang), pluck, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimize, sell a bill of goods to, take for a ride, take to the cleaners
    related: extort, wrench, wrest, wring, clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak, exploit, milk, deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick, rope (in), betray, bitch, double-cross, bamboozle, fast-talk

  11. to strike repeatedly

    "no one is sure who did them in that alley"

    similar: bash, baste, bat, batter, beat, belabor, belt, birch, bludgeon, buffet, bung up, club, curry, drub, fib (British), flog, hammer, hide, lace, lambaste, lash, lather, lick, maul, mess (up), paddle, pelt, pommel, pound, pummel, punch out, rough (up), slate, slog, switch, tan, thrash, thresh, thump, tromp, wallop, whale, whip, whop, whup, work over, beat up on
    related: assail, assault, attack, beset, box, bust, chop, clobber, clout, crack, cudgel, cuff, descend (on or upon), hit, jump (on), knock, lam, lay on, paste, pounce (on or upon), punch, raid, rush, slam, slap, smack, smash, sock, spank, storm, swat, swipe, thwack, whack, wham, whomp, blackjack, cane, cowhide, flagellate, fustigate, horsewhip, leather, pistol-whip, rawhide, scourge, strap, gore, lacerate, wound, maim, mangle, mutilate

  12. to take place

    "nothing's ever doing in this boring little town"

    similar: be, befall, betide, chance, come, come about, come down, come off, cook, go down (slang), go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, transpire, come to pass
    related: break, develop, rise, shape (up), arise, come up, crop (up), materialize, spring (up), intervene, fall out, follow, result, turn out, go off, proceed

Related Entry: Doable (adjective)

Doable is a different word from Justice. The synonyms below are for doable, not for justice.

  1. capable of being done or carried out

    "the assignment will be just barely doable in the time allowed"

    similar: achievable, attainable, feasible, possible, practicable, realizable, viable, workable
    related: practical, reasonable, sensible, contingent, likely, probable, acceptable, believable, conceivable, creditable, plausible, thinkable, actionable, available, usable
    opposite: hopeless, impossible, impracticable, infeasible, nonviable, unattainable, undoable, unfeasible, unrealizable, unviable, unworkable
    near: impractical, unrealistic, doubtful, dubious, far-fetched, improbable, unlikely, implausible, inconceivable, incredible, unbelievable, futile, useless, vain, absurd, fantastic, outlandish, preposterous, ridiculous, unthinkable

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Justice

The most common words with a similar meaning to Justice:

Chiefly British: beak
equity, fair shake, right, adjudicator, bench, court, judge, jurist, magistrate, detachment, disinterest, disinterestedness, evenhandedness, fair-mindedness, fairness, impartiality, neutralism, neutrality, nonpartisanship, objectiveness, objectivity

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Justice

Words with the opposite meaning of Justice:

inequity, injustice, raw deal, wrong, bias, favor, favoritism, nonobjectivity, one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, prejudice

Related Words for Justice

equitability, equitableness, goodness, righteousness, virtue, honor, integrity, uprightness, chief justice, circuit judge, justice of the peace, squire, auditor, master, jurisconsult, jurisprudent, apathy, indifference, unconcern, broad-mindedness, open-mindedness, tolerance, fence-sitting, straddling

Near Antonyms of Justice

unfairness, unjustness, wrongfulness, corruption, impropriety, crime, offense, wrongdoing, disservice, harm, chauvinism, nepotism, subjectiveness, subjectivity, bent, inclination, leaning, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, preconception, prejudgment

Word Forms of Justice

Inflections: justices

Origin & Etymology of Justice

Middle English, from Anglo-French justise, from Latin justitia, from justus just:1.

First known use: 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Justice

Words & Phrases Containing Justice

justice of the peace, justice is served/done, bring to justice, chief justice, do justice, fugitive from justice, miscarriage of justice, poetic justice, social justice warrior

Frequently Asked Questions about Justice

What does "Justice" mean?

"Justice" means the process or result of using laws to fairly judge cases, redress wrongs, and punish crimes. As a noun, it is defined as: the process or result of using laws to fairly judge cases, redress wrongs, and punish crimes. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Justice"?

Other words for "Justice" include equity, fair shake, right, adjudicator, beak, bench, court and judge. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Justice" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Justice"?

There are 46 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Justice". Common alternatives include equity, fair shake, right, adjudicator, beak, bench, court, judge, jurist and magistrate.

What is the opposite of "Justice"?

Antonyms of "Justice" include inequity, injustice, raw deal, wrong, bias, favor, favoritism and nonobjectivity. Near antonyms include unfairness, unjustness, wrongfulness and corruption.

How do you use "Justice" in a sentence?

Examples of "Justice" in a sentence: "the victim's family felt that justice had been done in the case"; "a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court"; "with scrupulous justice, the marriage counselor noted that both parties had much to atone for".

Is "Justice" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Justice" is a noun.

Is "Justice" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Justice" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Justice"?

"Justice" is pronounced /ˈjə-stəs/ and divided into syllables as jus·tice.