rättfärdigade

Rättfärdigade is a Swedish verb form meaning that someone or something justified, vindicated, or legitimized a claim, action, or position. It is the preterite (past tense) of the verb rättfärdiga, which can be used in secular contexts to show that an argument or decision has been shown to be correct or warranted, as well as in religious contexts to express that someone is declared righteous.

In usage, rättfärdigade often appears in sentences such as “Han rättfärdigade sina påståenden genom att visa dokument,” meaning that he supported his claims with evidence. It can also be used with the sense that a decision or measure was justified by new information, e.g., “Beslutet rättfärdigades av de nya uppgifterna.” The term thus covers both the act of proving something correct and the broader notion of legitimizing or vindicating an action.

Religious and theological usage is common in discussions of justification, particularly in Christian contexts where phrases like rättfärdigad genom tro describe being declared righteous by faith. In these contexts, the concept is often contrasted with other moral or legal evaluations, emphasizing a status or act attributed by a higher authority.

Related forms include rättfärdigande (the act of justifying) and rättfärdigad (the past participle used as an adjective, meaning “justified” in a passive sense). The word is standard in modern Swedish and appears across legal, argumentative, and theological writing, though its precise nuances depend on the surrounding context.