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
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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.
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
Mr Gottlieb accused Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, of making "inflammatory extrajudicial comments" about Lively's "character and motives" during appearances on news channels.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2025
“Optimism is not my specialty,” Holzer, 73, freely conceded during a recent conversation at her river-facing Brooklyn studio, where one work after another bore witness to extrajudicial incarceration, “enhanced interrogation” and other governmental malfeasance.
From New York Times • May 16, 2024
It was promptly vetoed by President Johnson, as "unconstitutional," "unnecessary," and "extrajudicial," and failed of passage over the veto.
From Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue 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.
