judging

American  

[juhj-ing] / ˈdʒʌdʒ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. rendering an authoritative decision, as in a legal case, contest, dispute, or the like.

   He received the highest praise on his cooking contest entry from the judging chefs in their feedback.

2. hearing evidence or arguments in a case in order to render a decision.

   The appeal and second appeal will last approximately one year each, depending on the judging court and the evidence.

3. evaluating, assessing, or forming a critical opinion of someone or something.

   We think all rightly judging readers will reject such an unlikely interpretation.

4. making or expressing a negative assessment of someone or something; condemning.

   I’d refrain from using judging words like "slob" and "ungracious," as those will lead to defensiveness and hurt feelings.

5. making a careful guess or estimate.

   It’s hard to reckon one’s distance from something when the judging eye is under water and the target is in the air.

---

noun

1. the act of rendering an authoritative decision, forming an estimate or critical opinion, or making or expressing a negative assessment of someone or something.

   The highlight of the evening was the judging of the Best in Red competition.

   I’m tired of the constant judging and critiquing by others.

Other Word Forms

• judgingly
  adverb
• unjudging
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of judging

First recorded in 1325–75; judg(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; judg(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

PDT is a little early to begin your neighborhood party, but we’re not judging.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

Lena believes women should "stop feeling ashamed" and judging each other over personal decisions.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

He also signaled interest in judging inflation by trimmed-mean measures, which strip out outliers among measured categories of goods and services.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Unemployment expectations in the New York Fed’s survey have also been elevated, as has the share of people judging jobs “hard to get” relative to “plentiful” in the Conference Board survey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

They’d been meeting at each other’s homes for a month now, and judging from when they were on our veranda, they were doing at least as much chatting as studying.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo