acquitted

American  

[uh-kwit-id] / əˈkwɪt ɪd /

adjective

1. having been declared not guilty of a crime.

   The mayor extended condolences to the victim’s family, but also expressed empathy for the acquitted officers.

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noun

1. Usually the acquitted a person or persons who have been declared not guilty of a crime.

   None of the acquitted received any kind of compensation or redress.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of acquit.

Other Word Forms

• unacquitted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of acquitted

acquit + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

An acquitted defendant is off the hook. If you're on trial for a crime and you're found "not guilty," then you're acquitted and you can go free. When you have been labeled acquitted, that means the jury has found you not guilty of the crime and legally blameless. The word gained notoriety in the highly publicized 1995 trial of the former football star O. J. Simpson, accused of murdering his wife and her friend. Simpson’s attorney’s mantra to the jury was "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit," referring to a glove connected to the murder.

Example Sentences

He told me he had been annoyed at the No Kings protesters blocking traffic, but he was glad Gamble had been acquitted.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

The judge also told a recently acquitted defendant that he knew the man was guilty, records show.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Kim, the wife of jailed ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, was handed 20 months in jail for bribery at an initial trial in January, but was acquitted of acting to rig stock prices and other charges.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

Tucker and a handful of associates were acquitted, but in the end the company produced only 51 vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Even though we wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, in our wildest dreams, we never thought Bucky would be acquitted.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon