extrajudicial
Americanadjective
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outside of judicial proceedings; beyond the action or authority of a court.
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beyond, outside, or against the usual procedure of justice; legally unwarranted.
an extrajudicial penalty.
adjective
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outside the ordinary course of legal proceedings
extrajudicial evidence
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beyond the jurisdiction or authority of the court
an extrajudicial opinion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of extrajudicial
Explanation
Something that's extrajudicial isn't backed or upheld by the law. Taking revenge on someone instead of taking them to court is an extrajudicial punishment. If a prisoner is executed without an official trial in a court, it's extrajudicial, and if police officers shoot and kill a suspect instead of arresting him, that would also be extrajudicial. Both examples happen outside of the legal process, and without the checks and balances that the law provides. Extrajudicial comes from the Latin root words extra, "outside of," and iudicalis, "belonging to a court of justice."
Vocabulary lists containing extrajudicial
Patron Saints of Nothing
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extra-
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The Far Away Brothers
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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.
Her organisation, the BYC, campaigns against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, which has been the site of a decades-long struggle for more autonomy.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
A Madrid-based pressure group, Safeguard Defenders, has counted more than 100 overseas Chinese police stations and linked some of them to extrajudicial efforts by Beijing to pressure its opponents.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
The US Justice Department insists the strikes were "lawful" and rejected accusations by a senior UN official that they were "extrajudicial".
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
“The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”
From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025
Even where, as in some of the cases, expiation seems to be intended rather than vengeance, the object is equally remote from an extrajudicial distress.
From The Common Law by Holmes, Oliver Wendell
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.
