adjudicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
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to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially.
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to act as judge of (a contest).
verb (used without object)
verb
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to give a decision (on), esp a formal or binding one
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(intr) to act as an adjudicator
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(tr) chess to determine the likely result of (a game) by counting relative value of pieces, positional strength, etc
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(intr) to serve as a judge or arbiter, as in a competition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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adjudicationnoun
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adjudicatornoun
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readjudicateverb
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adjudicativeadjective
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adjudicatoryadjective
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nonadjudicativeadjective
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nonadjudicativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adjudicatesimple
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adjudicatessimple
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have adjudicatedperfect
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has adjudicatedperfect
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am adjudicatingprogressive
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are adjudicatingprogressive
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is adjudicatingprogressive
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have been adjudicatingperfect progressive
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has been adjudicatingperfect progressive
Past
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adjudicatedsimple
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had adjudicatedperfect
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was adjudicatingprogressive
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were adjudicatingprogressive
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had been adjudicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adjudicate
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin adjūdicātus (past participle of adjūdicāre ); see ad-, judge, -ate 1
Explanation
To adjudicate is to act like a judge. A judge might adjudicate a case in court, and you may have to adjudicate in the local talent show. Do you see a similarity between judge and adjudicate? When you add the common Latin prefix ad meaning "to" or "toward," you have a pretty good idea what the word means. But a judge isn't the only person who can adjudicate. If you're fighting with your little brother or sister and make them cry, your parents may adjudicate and send you to your room.
Vocabulary lists containing adjudicate
You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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Just Mercy
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Anything But Typical
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Alpine had lodged a claim with the board, a team of lawyers set up to adjudicate in contract disputes, after Piastri rejected their claim he was committed to them.
From BBC • Sep. 2, 2022
It comprises prominent community elders who adjudicate in matters involving Baigas.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2018
Officials in the polling stations will adjudicate in case of glitches.
From Economist • Jul. 20, 2017
A panel of three judges will adjudicate in her attempt, 19 years and counting, to force the prison service to allow her to complete her transition into womanhood through sex-change surgery.
From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2015
We can not send Federal officers into every State to adjudicate, in disputed cases, the rights of those claiming to be voters under the State laws, as we should have to do.
From History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States by Barnes, William Horatio
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.
