adjudicate

[ uh-joo-di-keyt ]

See synonyms for: adjudicate adjudicator on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ad·ju·di·cat·ed, ad·ju·di·cat·ing.

to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially.

to act as judge of (a contest).

verb (used without object),ad·ju·di·cat·ed, ad·ju·di·cat·ing.

to sit in judgment (usually followed by upon).

Origin of adjudicate

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin adjūdicātus (past participle of adjūdicāre ); see ad-, judge, -ate¹

Other words from adjudicate

ad·ju·di·ca·tive [uh-joo-di-key-tiv, ‐kuh-tiv], /əˈdʒu dɪˌkeɪ tɪv, ‐kə tɪv/, ad·ju·di·ca·to·ry [uh-joo-di-kuh-tawr-ee], /əˈdʒu dɪ kəˌtɔr i/, adjective
ad·ju·di·ca·tor, noun
non·ad·ju·di·ca·tive, adjective
non·ad·ju·di·ca·tive·ly, adverb
re·ad·ju·di·cate, verb, re·ad·ju·di·cat·ed, re·ad·ju·di·cat·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adjudicate in a sentence

Elections staff members were in the middle of adjudicating the county’s last batch of ballots, one of the final phases of the tally, when they decided to postpone.
Democrats win control of U.S. Senate as Ossoff defeats Perdue | John Wagner, Brittany Shammas, Derek Hawkins, Cleve Wootson, Hannah Knowles | January 7, 2021 | Washington Post
We’re just a neutral space, people come and use us, we don’t try to adjudicate’.
EmTech Stage: Twitter’s CTO on misinformation | Tate Ryan-Mosley | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
The ICJ adjudicates on disputes between states and its rulings are binding.
Serbia and Croatia’s Competing Genocide Claims | Adam LeBor | March 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Not in the judicial branch of Government, for it only adjudicates and does not prescribe laws.
American Eloquence, Volume IV. (of 4) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for adjudicate

adjudicate

/ (əˈdʒuːdɪˌkeɪt) /

verb

(when intr, usually foll by upon) to give a decision (on), esp a formal or binding one
(intr) to act as an adjudicator

(tr) chess to determine the likely result of (a game) by counting relative value of pieces, positional strength, etc
(intr) to serve as a judge or arbiter, as in a competition

Origin of adjudicate

C18: from Latin adjūdicāre to award something to someone, from ad- to + jūdicāre to act as a judge, from jūdex judge

Derived forms of adjudicate

adjudication, noun
adjudicative (əˈdʒuːdɪkətɪv), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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