Just
What it means
Guided by a consistent standard of what is morally right.
Reach for it when praising a person, decision, rule, or outcome for principled fairness
A just manager heard both accounts before deciding what to do.
Words to choose between 8
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
Fits when balanced treatment is the main point
Careful Fair may mean merely acceptable; just carries a clearer moral standard.
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professional
Fits when different needs must be considered to reach a fair result
Careful Equitable is about allocation and treatment, not a person's whole character.
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professional
Fits when the person follows stated values under pressure
Careful Principled can describe harmful consistency if the principles themselves are unjust.
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professional
Fits when freedom from prejudice is the claim you can support
Careful Unbiased is risky when hidden assumptions have not actually been examined.
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formal
Fits when the decision-maker favors no side
Careful Impartiality cannot make an unjust governing rule fair.
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formal
Fits when compliance with law is the precise claim
Careful A lawful action is not automatically fair or morally just.
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literary
Fits when moral rightness is emphatic or religious in tone
Careful Righteous may sound self-congratulatory in ordinary praise.
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literary
Fits when a person's moral character is consistently honorable
Careful Upright describes character, not whether one isolated outcome is fair.
Opposites 3
- unjust
- biased
- corrupt
Common phrases 3
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just outcome
The mediator worked toward a just outcome for every tenant.
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just cause
They accepted hardship in pursuit of a just cause.
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just society
A just society protects people with little power as carefully as everyone else.
Word family 2
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated