unjust

unjust — adjective

1. describing a situation, action, or decision that is morally wrong because people

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a situation, action, or decision that is morally wrong because people are not treated equally or do not receive what they deserve

Example

Lucía called the new policy unjust because it charged poor families higher fees.

attributive use: unjust + noun (policy)

Hoa's sudden firing after twelve years at the factory felt deeply unjust to her colleagues.

predicative use: felt deeply unjust

Common collocations
  • unjust law
  • unjust decision
  • unjust treatment
  • unjust punishment
  • unjust system
  • unjust war
  • unjust criticism
  • deeply unjust
  • fundamentally unjust
Synonyms
  • unfair

    more common and slightly less formal; unjust carries a stronger moral or legal weight

  • inequitable

    formal term focused on lack of fairness in distribution or treatment

  • wrongful

    emphasises that an action violates a legal or moral right

Antonyms
  • just

    direct opposite; morally right and fair

  • fair

    more general term for equal and reasonable treatment

Grammar Patterns

unjust + noun

be + unjust

unjust to/towards + noun phrase

Usage Note

Often used with adverbs such as deeply, fundamentally, or profoundly to emphasise the degree of unfairness. Can appear before a noun (an unjust law) or after a linking verb (the punishment was unjust).

Common Mistakes

The decision was injustice.
The decision was unjust.
injustice is a noun; the adjective form unjust must be used after a linking verb.
It was unjust for her.
It was unjust to her.
the preposition to (not for) follows unjust when indicating the affected person.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Unjust, unfair, inequitable, and wrongful all describe situations that violate some standard of rightness, but they differ in scope and register. Unfair is the broadest and most neutral term — it applies whenever someone receives worse treatment than they deserve ('an unfair grading system'). Unjust carries stronger moral and often legal weight, suggesting a violation of justice itself ('an unjust prison sentence'). Inequitable is formal and focuses on systemic imbalance in how benefits or burdens are distributed ('an inequitable tax code'). Wrongful is used when an action specifically violates a legal or moral right ('wrongful dismissal from a job'). In everyday speech, unfair is most common; unjust is preferred in serious moral or legal contexts; inequitable is rare outside formal writing; wrongful is typical in legal settings.

unfair ↗inequitablewrongful ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • on unjust grounds
  • under unjust conditions

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Unjust combines the Old English prefix un- (meaning 'not') with the adjective just, which came into English from Latin iustus via Old French juste. The core idea has been 'not in accordance with what is morally right or fair' since the 1300s.