indict

[in-dahyt]

verb (used with object)

(of a grand jury) to bring a formal accusation against, as a means of bringing to trial: The grand jury indicted him for murder.

to charge with an offense or crime; accuse of wrongdoing; castigate; criticize: He tends to indict everyone of plotting against him.

Origin of indict

1620–30; variant spelling (< Medieval Latin) of indite

Related formsin·dict·ee, nounin·dict·er, in·dict·or, nounre·in·dict, verb (used with object)un·in·dict·ed, adjective

Can be confusedindict indite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for indicting

prosecute, censure, summon, incriminate, charge, impeach, arraign, frame, tax, criminate, inculpate, finger

Examples from the Web for indicting

Contemporary Examples of indicting

The answer, sadly, is perhaps the most indicting data to come out in recent years, revealed this past week.
No Partner For Peace
Bernard Avishai
June 25, 2012

Historical Examples of indicting

Upon which his host advanced, indicting him with a long white forefinger.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
It is as if not they were being indicted, but they were indicting society!
The Live Corpse
Leo Tolstoy
It seems to imply that the drunken one was indicting the executive.
It Never Can Happen Again
William De Morgan
I believe in indicting them, trying them, and convicting them.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 8 (of 12)
Robert G. Ingersoll
In America, the idea of indicting a man for endeavouring "to bring the government into contempt," would appear ludicrous.
Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume II (of 2)
Lady Anne Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for indicting

indict

verb

(tr) to charge (a person) with crime, esp formally in writing; accuse

Derived Formsindictee, nounindicter or indictor, noun

Word Origin for indict

C14: alteration of enditen to indite

xref

See indite

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

Word Origin and History for indicting

indict

c.1300, from Anglo-French enditer "accuse, indict" (late 13c.), Old French enditer "to dictate or inform," from Late Latin *indictare "to declare, proclaim in writing," from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + dictare "to say, compose in words" (see dictate). Retained its French pronunciation even after the spelling was re-Latinized c.1600. In classical Latin, indictus meant "not said, unsaid." Related: Indictable; indicted; indicting.