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end justifies the means, the
Idioms and Phrases
A good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. For example, He's campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means , or The officer tricked her into admitting her guilt—the end sometimes justifies the means . This proverbial (and controversial) observation dates from ancient times, but in English it was first recorded only in 1583.Example Sentences
Still, if the end justifies the means, the ultimate results were not without credit.
Like most of the legislation of the Assembly, it was defended on the Jesuit plea of expediency,--that the end justifies the means; the plea of unscrupulous and wicked politicians in all countries.
If the overturning of all constitutional authority by a man who professed to be a reformer, yet who reigned illegally as a despot, can be defended, it is only on the principle of expediency, that the end justifies the means,--the plea of the Jesuits, and of all the despots who have overturned constitutions and national liberties.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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