adjudication
Americannoun
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an act of adjudicating.
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Law.
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the act of a court in making an order, judgment, or decree.
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a judicial decision or sentence.
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a court decree in bankruptcy.
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adjudication
First recorded in 1685–95, adjudication is from the Late Latin word adjūdicātiōn- (stem of adjūdicātiō ). See adjudicate, -ion
Explanation
After a long court trial, the judge reviews all the evidence to come to a conclusion about a case and that process is called adjudication. Adjudication comes from the Old French ajugier meaning "to judge, pass judgment on." An adjudication results in a formal judgment or decision given by a court. Often these adjudications lead to the making of history, like the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka trial in which the process of adjudication resulted in a decision that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.
Vocabulary lists containing adjudication
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United States v. Nixon (1974)
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Red Kayak
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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.
Taking their place, he said, would be something totally different: a system inspired by X's "community notes", where users rather than experts adjudicate on accuracy.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025
He understands that an American president cannot and should not try to adjudicate on this kind of historical debate.
From Slate • May 16, 2016
It will be years before Jake and Joe are old enough to adjudicate on my decision to write All at Sea.
From The Guardian • Apr. 9, 2016
The document does not adjudicate on whether the complainant's concerns were fair, assess clients' needs nor make recommendations to the Cabinet Office.
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2015
When Wilson first met his class, in the University, after his wife's death, he had to adjudicate on the comparative merits of various essays which had been sent in on competition for a prize.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 65, March, 1863 by Various
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.