FrameNet Berkeley
Frame Report
Search the frame index by name, then open a frame to read its full report.
Searching frames
Justifying [agentive]
An Agent uses some Means to explain why their Act or omission or a State_of_affairs they are involved in was licit despite appearances, often mentioning mitigating circumstances. Before this occurs, the Agent has done or omitted to do an Act or is responsible for the obtaining of a State_of_affairs, which a Judge deems to constitute a violation of an obligation or a moral guideline.
NOTE: There is a consistent metaphorical conception of justifying as defending. Words in the defending frame can also be used in the justifying frame.
Kim failed to fully justify his decision.
NOTE: There is a consistent metaphorical conception of justifying as defending. Words in the defending frame can also be used in the justifying frame.
Kim failed to fully justify his decision.
Properties
- ID
- #512
- Entry
- frm_justifying
- Namespace
- Eventive.Agentive
- FrameNet version
- Justifying (fn_1.7_2023)
- Domains
- —
- Types
- —
- Ontological type
- —
- English name
- Justifying
Core Frame Elements (3)
| Frame element | Definition | Semantic type | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act |
An action for which the Agent is held responsible, frequently one that the Agent has taken themself.
Kim failed to fully justify his decision. |
category
state_of_affairs
|
— |
| Agent |
The person or organization that is held responsible for a prior Act or for a State_of_affairs.
Smithers defended his decision by insisting that he had used his best judgment |
category
sentient
|
— |
| State_of_affairs |
A State_of_affairs that the Agent is held responsible for.
The lawyers tried to justify enormous punitive damages being paid to victims on a first-past-the-post system . |
— | — |
FE Core Set(s) and Excludes
CoreSet
Act
State_of_affairs
Peripheral Frame Elements (5)
| Frame element | Definition | Semantic type | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree |
The extent to which the justification was adequate.
He barely justified his actions. |
— | — |
| Domain |
The general spectrum of reasoning that the Agent uses to explain the Act or State_of_affairs.
|
— | — |
| Judge |
The person or institution that holds the Agent responsible for an Act or State_of_affairs.
Any decision that preparation and presentation should be separate would have to be justified to the public and be open in the last resort to judicial review |
category
sentient
|
— |
| Means |
An intentional action, typically an act of speaking, which the Agent performs in order to justify an Act or State_of_affairs.
|
category
state_of_affairs
|
— |
| Time |
The Time of the justifying event.
|
category
time
|
— |
Extra-thematic Frame Elements (2)
| Frame element | Definition | Semantic type | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation |
The set of facts or circumstances that the Agent offers in explanation of their earlier Act or of the State_of_affairs
Mr De Klerk justified his decision on the curious grounds that an inquiry would take too long|exp |
category
state_of_affairs
|
— |
| Frequency |
This FE denotes the number of times the Act or State_of_affairs are justified.
|
— | — |
Frame-Frame Relations (1)
Using
Lexical Units (6)
| LU | Type | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| account.v | — | COD: give a satisfactory record or explanation of. |
| defend.v | — | COD: attempt to justify |
| explain.v | — | COD: excuse or justify one's motives or conduct |
| justification.n | — | FN: the act of proving something to be right or reasonable |
| justify.v | — | COD: prove to be right or reasonable |
| rationalize.v | — | COD: attempt to justify (an action or attitude) with logical reasoning |
None.
None.
No visual units
This frame has no visual-unit images.