Õigustame

Õigustame is the present tense, first-person plural form of the Estonian verb õigustama (or õigustada), meaning to justify or to legitimize. As a finite verb it is used when a speaker and others provide reasons or arguments to defend a claim, action, or decision and present it as legitimate or appropriate.

Grammatically, õigustame denotes an action carried out by the speaker together with others and is typically followed by the object of justification, such as a decision, policy, or behavior. It appears in formal and informal contexts alike, including political, legal, academic, and everyday discourse. The word is part of a family that includes related forms like õigustama (to justify), õigustus (justification or rationale), and õigustamine (the act or process of providing justification).

Common uses include phrases like me õigustame oma otsuseid (we justify our decisions) or riigi meetmeid õigustades (justifying state measures). The term often carries a normative or argumentative tone, signaling that an action is being defended as rightful or reasonable rather than merely described.

Related concepts in Estonian include õigus (right, law) and justification-related vocabulary used in legal and moral argumentation. While õigustame specifically refers to the act of providing justification in the present tense for a collective subject, its broader semantic field overlaps with terms describing legitimacy and reason-giving in persuasion and governance.