nonjustified

Nonjustified is an English adjective meaning not justified, lacking justification, warrant, or basis. It can describe an argument, claim, or action that has insufficient support or reasoning, or, in typography, text that is not aligned on both margins (often called ragged right). The term emphasizes absence of justification rather than moral condemnation, though context can imply both.

The word is formed with the prefix non- plus justified, which derives from Latin iustificare "to make just, justify" via Old French jusitifier. In modern usage, nonjustified is often interchangeable with unjustified in many contexts, though some writers reserve nonjustified for technical or analytical descriptions where the negation of justification is explicit.

In argumentation, a nonjustified claim is one that lacks evidence or reasons. In law or ethics, nonjustified force or coercion is action that is not legally or morally warranted. In typography, nonjustified text refers to lines that do not stretch to equal margins, producing a ragged-right (or ragged-left) edge.

Examples: The committee rejected the proposal as nonjustified because it lacked supporting data. The document uses nonjustified text for readability in narrow columns.

See also: justification, unjustified, text alignment, ragged edge, rational justification.