justice
JUSS-tiss
/ˈdʒʌstɪs/
Just behavior or treatment; the quality of being fair and reasonable.
Justice is the broadest term in this group, encompassing law, morality, and social fairness.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'jus', meaning 'law' or 'right'. In ancient Rome, 'jus' was the body of laws that bound the citizens together.
Word relationships
- fairness: Fairness is more personal and informal; justice is more systemic and legal.
- injustice: The lack of fairness or the violation of rights.
Commonly confused with
- equity: Justice is the goal; equity is one of the specific methods (fairness) used to achieve it.
Word family
- justify (verb): To show to be right or reasonable.
- just (adjective): Based on what is right.
Collocations
- criminal justice
- social justice
- bring to justice
- miscarriage of justice
Idioms & expressions
- do justice to
- poetic justice
Example sentences
- "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Civil Rights
- "The defendant's lawyers argued that true justice could only be found through an acquittal." Legal System
Memory hook
Think of 'Just-ice'. It's 'just' (fair) and 'ice' (cool and firm). The law of what is right.
When not to use
Avoid using it for small, informal situations where 'fairness' sounds more natural (e.g., 'Justice was served when I got the bigger cookie' sounds overly dramatic).
Fun facts
- In the U.S. Supreme Court, the judges are not called 'Judges' but 'Justices'.
Explore more words
due process, justification, virtue, distributive, redress, retributive
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