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Describes something so wrong that no reason could ever make it acceptable. The key is inside the word: to 'justify' an action is to give a good reason for it, so 'unjustifiable' means no good reason exists — not that the speaker has not heard one yet, but that none could work.
Describes是在形容 something so wrong一件事糟到 that no reason could ever make it acceptable不管什麼理由都不可能讓它站得住腳的地步。The key is inside the word關鍵就藏在這個字本身裡: to 'justify' an action'justify'這個動作 is to give a good reason for it就是要為它找一個好理由, so 'unjustifiable' means no good reason exists所以'unjustifiable'的意思就是沒有好理由存在 —— not that the speaker has not heard one yet不是說講話的人還沒聽過理由, but that none could work而是說根本不可能有理由站得住腳。
That makes it a strong condemnation, and a formal one. You meet it in news reports, official statements and arguments: an unjustifiable attack, an unjustifiable delay, unjustifiable spending, an unjustifiable use of force.
That makes it a strong condemnation這讓它成為一種強烈的譴責, and a formal one而且說法很正式。You meet it in news reports, official statements and arguments你會在新聞報導、官方聲明和辯論裡看到它: an unjustifiable attack不正當的攻擊, an unjustifiable delay不合理的延誤, unjustifiable spending說不過去的支出, an unjustifiable use of force無法站得住腳的動武行為。
It can be used before a noun or after 'be', and often follows 'completely', 'wholly' or 'morally'.
It can be used before a noun它可以放在名詞前面, or after 'be'或放在'be'後面, and often follows 'completely', 'wholly' or 'morally'而且常常接在'completely'、'wholly'或'morally'後面。
People do also use it more loosely for things that are simply hard to defend — 'an unjustifiable price for a cup of coffee' — but that is a stretch of the word for effect, and it sounds a little dramatic on purpose.
People do also use it more loosely有些人也會用得比較鬆, for things that are simply hard to defend來形容單純難以說得過去的東西 —— 'an unjustifiable price for a cup of coffee''一杯咖啡貴到說不過去的價錢' —— but that is a stretch of the word for effect但這是為了效果而誇張用法, and it sounds a little dramatic on purpose而且是故意講得有點戲劇化。
組成un- (not) + justifiable (able to be shown as right). Inside 'justifiable' is 'justify' — 'just' (fair, right, from Latin iustus) + -ify (to make) — so justify is literally 'to make something look right', and -able means 'can be done'.
同家族的字
- justifythe verb this is built on — to give a good reason for
- justificationthe noun for the reason itself
- justthe old adjective meaning fair, at the root of the whole group
- justicesame Latin ius, 'law, right'
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
unjustifiableadj
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That cannot be justified, excused or pardoned.
- Near-synonyms: indefensible, inexcusable, unforgivable, unjustified, unpardonable, unprovoked, unreasonable, regrettable, unacceptable, unworthy, remiss, blameworthy, culpable, unwarrantable, excessive, immoderate, unconscionable, outrageous, groundless, unfounded, foundationless, baseless, unsupported, unsubstantiated, unconfirmed, uncorroborated, invalid, untenable, weak, shaky, flawed, defective
- From track level, its operating floor looks particularly capacious, but there is a vacant space at one end which was designed to accommodate the control panel for the Perth-Inverness C.T.C. scheme; this was adumbrated as long ago as the 1955 Modernisation Plan, but now seems to be regarded as an unjustifiable luxury.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。