judge

1 of 2

noun

ˈjəj

Synonyms of judge next

: one who makes judgments: such as

: a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court

: one appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire

: one who gives an authoritative opinion

: critic

often capitalized : a tribal hero exercising leadership among the Hebrews after the death of Joshua

judgeship

ˈjəj-ˌship

noun

judge

2 of 2

verb

judged; judging

transitive verb

: to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises

: to form an estimate or evaluation of

trying to judge the amount of time required

especially : to form a negative opinion about

shouldn't judge him because of his accent

: to hold as an opinion : guess, think

I judge she knew what she was doing

: to sit in judgment on : try

judge a case

: to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation

They judged him guilty.

: govern, rule

—used of a Hebrew tribal leader

intransitive verb

: to form an opinion

: to decide as a judge

judger noun

Choose the Right Synonym for judge

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion.

infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise.

from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other

deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality

conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

concluded that only the accused could be guilty

judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

judge people by their actions

gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

gathered their desire to be alone without a word

Examples of judge in a Sentence

Noun She's one of the strictest judges in the state. He served as a judge at the baking contest. “I don't think we should trust her.” “Let me be the judge of that.” She is a good judge of character. Verb You should not judge people by their appearance. He was trying to judge the strength of his opponent. We should do whatever we judge to be the right thing. Who are you to judge me? He feels that they have judged him unfairly. Don't judge her too severely. The jury will be asked to judge the defendant's guilt. If you are accused of a crime you have the right to be judged by a jury of your peers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

Also unsettled is the question of whether the trial will be conducted before a jury or whether it should be left to the judge to make the ruling based on the evidence presented. —

John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024 Stamper has said footage taken just before the shooting shows Stines using his own phone to make a call, then using the judge's phone to make a call. —

Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 22 Nov. 2024

Verb

Reels will be judged on creativity by a jury of industry professionals. —

Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 20 Nov. 2024 Since then, the first 100 days has been the first benchmark at which the effectiveness of a president is judged: is the Cabinet appointed and confirmed by the Senate? —

Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for judge

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English juge, from Anglo-French, from Latin judex — see judge entry 2

Verb

Middle English juggen, from Anglo-French juger, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say — more at just, diction

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of judge was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judge. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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Kids Definition

judge

1 of 2 verb

ˈjəj

judged; judging

: to form an opinion after careful consideration

: to decide as a judge : try

: to reach a conclusion about something : think

judge

2 of 2 noun

: a public official having authority to decide questions brought before a court

: a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire

: a person who is qualified to give an opinion : critic

judgeship

-ˌship

noun

Etymology

Verb

Middle English juggen "to judge," from early French juger (same meaning), from Latin judicare "to judge," from judic-, judex "judge," from jus "right, law," and dicere "to say" — related to hoosegow, jury, just, prejudice

Legal Definition

judge

1 of 2 verb

ˈjəj

judged; judging

transitive verb

: to hear and decide (as a litigated question) in a court of justice

judge a case

: to pronounce after inquiry and deliberation

he was judged incompetent

intransitive verb

: to make a determination : decide

judge between two accounts

judge

2 of 2 noun

: a public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court

also : one (as a justice of the peace) who performs one or more functions of such an official

Etymology

Verb

Old French jugier, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say

Last Updated: 24 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

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judge

noun

verb

Synonyms

Examples of judge in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near judge

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Legal Definition