Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
verb
To justify excessively; to provide too much justification for.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Specifically, to provide external incentive for an already-internally-motivated behavior, thereby risking the loss of the original motivation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Topics: human-sciences, psychology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- English justify English overjustify From over- + justify.
