self-justification

/'self,dʤʌstifi'keiʃn/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
self-justification

He offered a weak self-justification for missing the meeting.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • The act or process of defending or explaining one's own actions, beliefs, or failures, especially when they are criticized or questionable: It refers to the attempt to make one's behavior or choices seem reasonable or correct, often to oneself or others.
Examples of Usage
  • Noun:
    • His long email was nothing but elaborate self-justification for missing the deadline.
    • After the argument, she engaged in quiet self-justification, replaying the events in her mind to prove she was right.
    • The politician's speech was seen as transparent self-justification for his controversial vote.
Advanced Usage
  • Psychological context: In psychology, "self-justification" is often discussed as a cognitive process to reduce the discomfort of cognitive dissonance, where a person justifies a decision or action that conflicts with their beliefs.
    • The theory of cognitive dissonance explains how powerful the need for self-justification can be.
Variants and Related Words
  • Justify (verb): To show or prove to be right or reasonable.
    • He tried to justify his actions.
  • Self-justifying (adjective): Serving to justify oneself.
    • She gave a self-justifying account of the incident.
Synonyms
  • Rationalization: The action of attempting to explain or justify behavior or an attitude with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate.
  • Vindication: The action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion; justification can be a synonym in the context of proving correctness.
  • Defense: The action of defending from or resisting attack; can be used similarly for justifying one's position.
Related Phrases
  • In self-justification: Used to introduce a statement that explains or defends one's actions.
    • "I had no other choice," he said in self-justification.
Related Idioms
  • Justify one's own existence: To prove that one's life or actions have value or purpose (a more extreme form of self-justification).
    • He felt a constant need to justify his own existence through achievement.
self-justification

He offered a weak self-justification for missing the meeting.

Noun
  1. a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
    • he kept finding excuses to stay
    • every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job
    • his transparent self-justification was unacceptable

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