Meaning & use
justice
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
Fair treatment, with each person getting what is right or deserved.
Grammar: Uncountable: seek justice, not a justice.
Patterns
- justice for someone
- do justice to something
The victims' families want justice.
The protest was about social justice.
They fought for justice for the workers.
noununcountablelegal
The legal system and the process of applying laws, including courts and punishment.
Grammar: Often with the: the justice system; bring someone to justice.
Patterns
- bring someone to justice
- the justice system
The thief was brought to justice.
Delays in the justice system frustrate many people.
The Ministry of Justice published new rules.
nouncountablelegal
A judge, especially one on a higher court, used as a title.
Grammar: Countable and capitalized before a name: Justice Lee.
Patterns
- Justice + name
Justice Lee wrote the court's opinion.
The chief justice announced the ruling.
Two justices disagreed with the decision.
Word forms
| plural | justices |
|---|
Common combinations
- seek justice
- They marched to seek justice.
- social justice
- She studies social justice.
- miscarriage of justice
- His conviction was a miscarriage of justice.
- do justice to
- The photo does not do justice to the view.
- criminal justice
- He works in criminal justice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fairness
- Fairness is everyday and applies to any situation, while justice is more serious and often legal.
- equity
- Equity is formal and stresses fairness that adjusts for different needs.
- righteousness
- Righteousness is about being morally good, not about treatment by law.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: justice or justification?
justice vs justification
Justification is a reason for an action; justice is fair treatment.
Practice
The police finally brought the fraudster to ____.
Choose one answer.
Bring someone to justice is a fixed phrase meaning to put them on trial. The other forms are not nouns.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “justice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.