adjudicate

American  

[uh-joo-di-keyt] / əˈdʒu dɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

adjudicated, adjudicating

1. to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.

2. to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially.

3. to act as judge of (a contest).

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verb (used without object)

adjudicated, adjudicating

1. to sit in judgment (usually followed byupon ).

adjudicate British  

/ əˈdʒuːdɪkətɪv, əˈdʒuːdɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to give a decision (on), esp a formal or binding one

2. (intr) to act as an adjudicator

3. (tr) chess to determine the likely result of (a game) by counting relative value of pieces, positional strength, etc

4. (intr) to serve as a judge or arbiter, as in a competition

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Other Word Forms

• adjudication noun
• adjudicative adjective
• adjudicator noun
• adjudicatory adjective
• nonadjudicative adjective
• nonadjudicatively adverb
• readjudicate verb

Etymology

Origin of adjudicate

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin adjūdicātus (past participle of adjūdicāre ); ad-, judge, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

“I look forward to finally having an opportunity to have this matter adjudicated in a fair and impartial setting.”

From Los Angeles Times

“This suit appears to be an attempt to generate sensationalized publicity rather than adjudicate a legitimate legal matter,” general counsel Erin Gleaton said in an email.

From Los Angeles Times

The days when dictators could live in gilded exile with fortunes in secret Swiss bank accounts are mostly over, primarily because of global mechanisms for adjudicating human-rights abuses and tracking ill-gotten gains.

From The Wall Street Journal

He claimed her firing was “for cause,” a term whose precise legal meaning hasn’t been adjudicated but is widely interpreted to connote gross malfeasance or some such offense in office.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, the case was about to reach a United Nations agency that adjudicates copyright disputes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• arbitrate