judge

[ juhj ]

/ dʒʌdʒ /

noun

a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice.

a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter: the judges of a beauty contest.

a person qualified to pass a critical judgment: a good judge of horses.

an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul.

(especially in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis.

verb (used with object), judged, judg·ing.

to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person): The court judged him guilty.

to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try: The Supreme Court is judging that case.

to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically: You can't judge a book by its cover.

to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge: The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale.

to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess: He judged her to be correct.

to make a careful guess about; estimate: We judged the distance to be about four miles.

(of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern.

verb (used without object), judged, judg·ing.

to act as a judge; pass judgment: No one would judge between us.

to form an opinion or estimate: I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly.

to make a mental judgment.

Nearby words

Origin of judge

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English jugen < Anglo-French juger, Old French jugier < Latin jūdicāre to judge, equivalent to jūdic- (stem of jūdex) a judge + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) Middle English juge < Old French < Latin jūdicem, accusative of jūdex

SYNONYMS FOR judge

1. justice. 2. arbitrator. Judge, referee, umpire refer to one who is entrusted with decisions affecting others. Judge, in its legal and other uses, implies particularly that one has qualifications and authority for giving decisions in matters at issue: a judge appointed to the Supreme Court; a judge in the pie competition. A referee usually examines and reports on the merits of a case as an aid to a court. An umpire gives the final ruling when arbitrators of a case disagree. 3. connoisseur, critic. 10. determine, consider, regard. 13. adjudge, adjudicate.

Related forms

judge·a·ble, adjectivejudg·er, nounjudge·less, adjectivejudge·like, adjective

judge·ship, nounjudg·ing·ly, adverbre·judge, verb, re·judged, re·judg·ing.sub·judge, nounsub·judge·ship, nounun·der·judge, verb (used with object), un·der·judged, un·der·judg·ing.un·der·judge, nounun·judge·a·ble, adjectiveun·judged, adjectiveun·judge·like, adjectiveun·judg·ing, adjectivewell-judged, adjective

Can be confusedjudge justice (see synonym study at the current entry)

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

British Dictionary definitions for judgingly

judge

/ (dʒʌdʒ) /

noun

a public official with authority to hear cases in a court of law and pronounce judgment upon themCompare magistrate (def. 1), justice (def. 5), justice (def. 6) Related adjective: judicial

a person who is appointed to determine the result of contests or competitions

a person qualified to comment criticallya good judge of antiques

a leader of the peoples of Israel from Joshua's death to the accession of Saul

verb

to hear and decide upon (a case at law)

(tr) to pass judgment on; sentence

(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to decide or deem (something) after inquiry or deliberation

to determine the result of (a contest or competition)

to appraise (something) critically

(tr; takes a clause as object) to believe (something) to be the case; suspect

Derived Forms

judgeable, adjectivejudgeless, adjectivejudgelike, adjectivejudger, noun

judgingly, adverb

Word Origin for judge

C14: from Old French jugier, from Latin jūdicāre to pass judgment, from jūdex a judge

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 judgingly

judge

mid-14c. (early 13c. as a surname), also judge-man; see judge (v.). In Hebrew history, it refers to a war leader vested with temporary power (e.g. Book of Judges), from Latin iudex being used to translate Hebrew shophet.

judge

c.1300, "to form an opinion about; make a decision," also "to try and pronounce sentence upon (someone) in a court," from Anglo-French juger, Old French jugier "to judge, pronounce judgment; pass an opinion on," from Latin iudicare "to judge, to examine officially; form an opinion upon; pronounce judgment," from iudicem (nominative iudex) "a judge," a compound of ius "right, law" (see just (adj.)) + root of dicere "to say" (see diction). Related: Judged; judging. From mid-14c. as "to regard, consider." The Old English word was deman (see doom). Spelling with -dg- emerged mid-15c.

Idioms and Phrases with judgingly

judge

In addition to the idiom beginning with judge

judge a book by its cover, one can't

also see:

sober as a judge

Also seejudgment.