justice

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jus·tice

(jŭs′tĭs)

1. The quality of being just; fairness: In the interest of justice, we should treat everyone the same.

a. The principle of moral rightness; decency.

b. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness: argued for the justice of his cause.

a. The attainment of what is just, especially that which is fair, moral, right, merited, or in accordance with law: My client has not received justice in this hearing.

b. Law The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law: We seek justice in this matter from the court.

c. The administration, system, methods, or procedures of law: a conspiracy to obstruct justice; a miscarriage of justice.

4. Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason: The overcharged customer was angry, and with justice.

5. Abbr. J. Law A judge on the highest court of a government, such as a judge on the US Supreme Court.

Idiom:

do justice to

To treat adequately, fairly, or with full appreciation: The subject is so complex that I cannot do justice to it in a brief survey.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin iūstitia, from iūstus, just; see just¹.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

justice

(ˈdʒʌstɪs)

1. the quality or fact of being just

2. (Philosophy) ethics

a. the principle of fairness that like cases should be treated alike

b. a particular distribution of benefits and burdens fairly in accordance with a particular conception of what are to count as like cases

c. the principle that punishment should be proportionate to the offence

3. (Law) the administration of law according to prescribed and accepted principles

4. (Law) conformity to the law; legal validity

5. (Professions) a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature

6. (Professions) short for justice of the peace

7. good reason (esp in the phrase with justice): he was disgusted by their behaviour, and with justice.

8. do justice to

a. to show to full advantage: the picture did justice to her beauty.

b. to show full appreciation of by action: he did justice to the meal.

c. to treat or judge fairly

9. do oneself justice to make full use of one's abilities

10. (Law) bring to justice to capture, try, and usually punish (a criminal, an outlaw, etc)

[C12: from Old French, from Latin jūstitia, from justus just]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

jus•tice

(ˈdʒʌs tɪs)

n.

1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.

2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim: to complain with justice.

3. justness of ground or reason.

4. the quality of being true or correct.

5. the moral principle determining just conduct.

6. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just dealing or treatment: to seek justice.

7. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

8. the maintenance or administration of what is just according to law: a court of justice.

9. judgment of individuals or causes by judicial process: to administer justice.

10. a judicial officer; a judge or magistrate.

Idioms:

1. bring to justice, to cause to come before a court for trial or to receive punishment for one's misdeeds.

2. do justice to,

a. to act fairly toward.

b. to appreciate properly.

c. to reflect or express the worth of properly.

[1150–1200; Middle English < Old French < Latin jūstitia=jūst(us) just¹ + -itia -ice]

justice

high court - A supreme court of justice.
attain - First meant "bring to justice."
revenge, justice - Revenge is personal and justice is societal.
blind justice - The Greek statue for justice is wearing a blindfold so she cannot see the bribes being offered to her, hence blind justice.

Justice

Even, it [justice] is as the sun on a flat plain; uneven, it strikes like the sun on a thicket —Malay proverb
Injustice … gathers like dust under everything —Rainer Maria Rilke
Just as a sentence meted out by a kangaroo court —Anon
Justice … inevitable as the law of cause and effect —L. P. Hartley
Justice is like a train that’s nearly always late —Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Justice is like the kingdom of God; it is not without us as a fact, it is within us as a great yearning —George Eliot
Shed justice like paladins —Jonathan Valin
The tongue of the just is as choice silver —The Holy Bible/Proverbs
An unrectified case of injustice has a terrible way of lingering … like an unfinished equation —Mary McCarthy
We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream —Martin Luther King Jr., speech, June 15, 1963
This is from King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains. Your judgments are like the great deep —The Holy Bible/Psalms
‘Your’ replaces the biblical ‘thy.’

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	justice - the quality of being just or fair justness righteousness - adhering to moral principles fairness, equity - conformity with rules or standards; "the judge recognized the fairness of my claim" natural virtue - (scholasticism) one of the four virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) derived from nature rightfulness, right - anything in accord with principles of justice; "he feels he is in the right"; "the rightfulness of his claim" unjustness, injustice - the practice of being unjust or unfair
	2.	justice - judgment involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments judicature, administration - the act of meting out justice according to the law judgment, assessment, judgement - the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or event; "they criticized my judgment of the contestants" prejudice - disadvantage by prejudice
	3.	justice - a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice judge, jurist adjudicator - a person who studies and settles conflicts and disputes alcalde - a mayor or chief magistrate of a Spanish town chief justice - the judge who presides over a supreme court Daniel - a wise and upright judge; "a Daniel come to judgment" -- Shakespeare doge - formerly the chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa justiciar, justiciary - formerly a high judicial officer magistrate - a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law (especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses) functionary, official - a worker who holds or is invested with an office ordinary - a judge of a probate court praetor, pretor - an annually elected magistrate of the ancient Roman Republic qadi - an Islamic judge recorder - a barrister or solicitor who serves as part-time judge in towns or boroughs trial judge - a judge in a trial court trier - one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case
	4.	Justice - the United States federal department responsible for enforcing federal laws (including the enforcement of all civil rights legislation); created in 1870 Department of Justice, DoJ, Justice Department legislation, statute law - law enacted by a legislative body executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States BJA, Bureau of Justice Assistance - the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse BJS, Bureau of Justice Statistics - the agency in the Department of Justice that is the primary source of criminal justice statistics for federal and local policy makers FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation - a federal law enforcement agency that is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Enforcement Agency - federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing narcotics and controlled substances; goal is to immobilize drug trafficking organizations BoP, Federal Bureau of Prisons - the law enforcement agency of the Justice Department that operates a nationwide system of prisons and detention facilities to incarcerate inmates sentenced to imprisonment for federal crimes National Institute of Justice, NIJ - the law enforcement agency that is the research and development branch of the Department of Justice Marshals, United States Marshals Service, US Marshals Service - the United States' oldest federal law enforcement agency is responsible today for protecting the Federal Judiciary and transporting federal prisoners and protecting federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminals and generally ensuring the effective operation of the federal judicial system law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

justice

noun

1. fairness, equity, integrity, honesty, decency, impartiality, rectitude, reasonableness, uprightness, justness, rightfulness, right There is no justice in this world!
fairness wrong, injustice, dishonesty, favouritism, unfairness, inequity, partiality, unreasonableness, unlawfulness

2. fairness, legitimacy, reasonableness, justness, right, integrity, honesty, legality, rectitude, rightfulness We must win people round to the justice of our cause.

3. law A lawyer is part of the machinery of justice.

4. judge, magistrate, beak (Brit. slang), His, Her or Your Honour a justice on the Supreme Court

Related words
fear dikephobia

Quotations
"It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer" [William Blackstone Commentaries]
"Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity" [Alexander Solzhenitsyn Letter to three students]
"Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done" [Lord Hewart]
"For me, justice is the first condition of humanity" [Wole Soyinka The Man Died]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

justice

noun

1. The quality or state of being just and unbiased:

detachment, disinterest, disinterestedness, dispassion, dispassionateness, equitableness, fair-mindedness, fairness, impartiality, impartialness, justness, nonpartisanship, objectiveness, objectivity.

2. The state, action, or principle of treating all persons equally in accordance with the law:

due process, equity.

3. A public official who decides cases brought before a court of law in order to administer justice:

judge, jurisprudent, jurist, justice of the peace, magistrate.

Translations

عَدَالَةٌعَدالَهقاضٍمَحْكَمَة العَدْل

spravedlnostsoudsoudce

retfærdighedretssagdommer

Gerechtigkeit Justiz Recht Richter

δικαιοσύνη

justicia juez

oikeudenmukaisuus

justice tribunal juge

pravdapravo

igazságosságigazságszolgáltatáspártatlanságtörvényszéki bíró

dómaridómstóllréttlæti

giustizia giudice rendere giustizia assicurare qualcuno alla giustizia fare onore al

正義

정의

būtų teisingaįstatymaipasirodyti geriausiai

taisnībataisnīgumstiesatiesnesis

gerechtigheid justitie recht rechtvaardigheid gerecht

rettferdighet

sprawiedliwość sędzia

justiça

справедливость

pravicapravičnostsodišče

rättvisa

ความยุติธรรม

adalet hak hâkim yargıç

công lý

正义法官公正司法审判

justice

[ˈdʒʌstɪs] N

1. (Jur) → justicia f
to bring sb to justice → llevar a algn ante los tribunales

2. (= fairness) → justicia f
to do o.s. justice → quedar bien
to do sb justice → hacer justicia a algn
this doesn't do him justice [photo etc] → no le favorece
it doesn't do justice to his skills → no está a la altura de sus capacidades
to do justice to a meal → hacer los honores a una comida

3. (= person) → juez mf
Justice of the Peace (Brit) → juez mf de paz
(Lord) Chief Justice → Presidente m del Tribunal Supremo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

justice

[ˈdʒʌstɪs] n

(= fairness) → justice f
to do justice to sth (= deal with adequately) → faire honneur à qch
to do o.s. justice (in exam, interview) → se montrer à sa juste valeur
She didn't do herself justice → Elle ne s'est pas montrée à sa juste valeur.
to do sb justice [photo]
This photo doesn't do you justice → Cette photo ne vous avantage pas.

(= rightness) [cause, claim, argument] → bien-fondé m

(= legal provisions) → justice f
to bring sb to justice → traduire qn en justice

(= judge) → juge mf Lord Chief Justice, rough justiceJustice Department n (in US) → ministère m de la JusticeJustice of the Peace n → juge mf de paix

justice

(Jur) (= quality) → Gerechtigkeit f; (system) → Gerichtsbarkeit f, → Justiz f; British justice → britisches Recht; is this the famous British justice? → ist das die berühmte britische Gerechtigkeit?; to bring somebody to justice → jdn vor Gericht bringen; court of justice → Gerichtshof m, → Gericht nt; to administer justice → Recht sprechen ? poetic justice

(= fairness) → Gerechtigkeit f; (of claims) → Rechtmäßigkeit f; to do him justice → um ihm gegenüber gerecht zu sein, um mal fair zu sein (inf); this photograph doesn’t do her justice → auf diesem Foto ist sie nicht gut getroffen; she never does herself justice → sie kommt nie richtig zur Geltung; that’s not true, you’re not doing yourself justice → das stimmt nicht, Sie unterschätzen sich; you didn’t do yourself justice in the exams → Sie haben im Examen nicht gezeigt, was Sie können; they did justice to the wine → sie wussten den Wein zu würdigen; and with justice → und (zwar) zu Recht; there’s no justice, is there? → das ist doch nicht gerecht

(= judge) → Richter(in) m(f); Lord Chief Justice oberster Richter in Großbritannien; Justice of the Peace → Friedensrichter(in) m(f); Mr Justice Buchanan → Richter Buchanan

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

justice

[ˈdʒʌstɪs] n

a. (Law) → giustizia
to bring sb to justice → consegnare qn alla giustizia

b. (fairness) in justice to her, she ... → per essere giusti, lei...
she never does herself justice → non dimostra mai quello che vale
this biography doesn't do him justice → questa biografia non gli rende giustizia
this photo doesn't do you justice → questa foto non ti fa giustizia
to do justice to a meal → fare onore a un pranzo

c. (judge) → giudice m
Lord Chief Justice (Brit) → presidente m della Corte d'Appello

justice

(ˈdʒastis) noun

1. fairness or rightness in the treatment of other people. Everyone has a right to justice; I don't deserve to be punished – where's your sense of justice?

2. the law or the administration of it. Their dispute had to be settled in a court of justice.

3. a judge.

bring to justice

to arrest, try and sentence (a criminal). The murderer escaped but was finally brought to justice.

do (someone/something) justice / do justice to (someone/something)

1. to treat fairly or properly. It would not be doing him justice to call him lazy when he's so ill.

2. to fulfil the highest possibilities of; to get the best results from; to show fully or fairly. I was so tired that I didn't do myself justice in the exam.

in justice to (him, *heretc) / to do (him, *heretc) justice

if one must be fair (to him, her etc). To do her justice, I must admit that she was only trying to help when she broke the cup.

justice

→ عَدَالَةٌ spravedlnost retfærdighed Gerechtigkeit δικαιοσύνη justicia oikeudenmukaisuus justice pravda giustizia 正義 정의 gerechtigheid rettferdighet sprawiedliwość justiça справедливость rättvisa ความยุติธรรม adalet công lý 正义

jus·tice

n. justicia.

justice

n justicia

References in classic literature ?

In order to make the children sensible of the pitiable condition of these men, Grandfather singled out Peter Oliver, chief justice of Massachusetts under the crown, and imagined him walking through the streets of Boston on the morning before he left it forever.

Old Chief Justice Oliver threw on his red cloak, and placed his three- cornered hat on the top of his white wig.

View in context

The argument of the Republic is the search after Justice, the nature of which is first hinted at by Cephalus, the just and blameless old man-- then discussed on the basis of proverbial morality by Socrates and Polemarchus--then caricatured by Thrasymachus and partially explained by Socrates--reduced to an abstraction by Glaucon and Adeimantus, and having become invisible in the individual reappears at length in the ideal State which is constructed by Socrates.

The natural divisions are five in number;--( 1) Book I and the first half of Book II down to the paragraph beginning, "I had always admired the genius of Glaucon and Adeimantus," which is introductory; the first book containing a refutation of the popular and sophistical notions of justice, and concluding, like some of the earlier Dialogues, without arriving at any definite result.

View in context

She had lately remitted the trespass of a stage-coachman, who had overturned her post-chaise into a ditch; nay, she had even broken the law, in refusing to prosecute a highwayman who had robbed her, not only of a sum of money, but of her ear-rings; at the same time d--ning her, and saying, "Such handsome b--s as you don't want jewels to set them off, and be d--n'd to you." But now, so uncertain are our tempers, and so much do we at different times differ from ourselves, she would hear of no mitigation; nor could all the affected penitence of Honour, nor all the entreaties of Sophia for her own servant, prevail with her to desist from earnestly desiring her brother to execute justiceship (for it was indeed a syllable more than justice) on the wench.

But luckily the clerk had a qualification, which no clerk to a justice of peace ought ever to be without, namely, some understanding in the law of this realm.

View in context

No, he said, he could give no such liberty; I might ask it when I came before the justice of peace; and seeing I threatened him, he would take care of me in the meantime, and would lodge me safe in Newgate.

'Good, sir,' says the mercer to him tauntingly, 'are you a justice of peace or a constable?

View in context

Since in every art and science the end aimed at is always good, so particularly in this, which is the most excellent of all, the founding of civil society, the good wherein aimed at is justice; for it is this which is for the benefit of all.

View in context

Shared injustice is half justice. And he who can bear it, shall take the injustice upon himself!

View in context

This would have been the case in the constitution examined by him, if the king, who is the sole executive magistrate, had possessed also the complete legislative power, or the supreme administration of justice; or if the entire legislative body had possessed the supreme judiciary, or the supreme executive authority.

View in context

The office of judges may have reference unto the parties that use, unto the advocates that plead, unto the clerks and ministers of justice underneath them, and to the sovereign or state above them.