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judge

[juhj]
See more synonyms for judge on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice.
  2. a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter: the judges of a beauty contest.
  3. a person qualified to pass a critical judgment: a good judge of horses.
  4. an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul.
  5. (especially in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis.
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verb (used with object), judged, judg·ing.
  1. to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person): The court judged him guilty.
  2. to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try: The Supreme Court is judging that case.
  3. to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically: You can't judge a book by its cover.
  4. to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge: The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale.
  5. to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess: He judged her to be correct.
  6. to make a careful guess about; estimate: We judged the distance to be about four miles.
  7. (of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern.
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verb (used without object), judged, judg·ing.
  1. to act as a judge; pass judgment: No one would judge between us.
  2. to form an opinion or estimate: I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly.
  3. to make a mental judgment.
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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
Related formsjudge·a·ble, adjectivejudg·er, nounjudge·less, adjectivejudge·like, adjectivejudge·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)

Synonyms for judge

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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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for well-judged

sensible, prudent, reasonable, skillful, shrewd, thorough, cautious, sane, circumspect, rational, expedient, sober, careful, considerate, astute, precise, efficient, effortless, elegant, graceful

Examples from the Web for well-judged

Historical Examples of well-judged

  • How far this step was well-judged may be a matter of opinion.

    The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2)

    Florence A. Thomas Marshall

  • Then he struck it a well-judged blow beneath the ear, and flung it to Sipsu.

  • The line, as Karamaneh had assured me, was of well-judged length.

  • This was a well-judged hit on his part, and had the effect of averting the impending storm.

  • This well-judged and politic stroke on the part of Magua was not without instantaneous results.

    The Last of the Mohicans

    James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for well-judged

well-judged

adjective (well judged when postpositive)
  1. showing careful consideration or skill
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judge

noun
  1. 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
  2. a person who is appointed to determine the result of contests or competitions
  3. a person qualified to comment criticallya good judge of antiques
  4. a leader of the peoples of Israel from Joshua's death to the accession of Saul
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verb
  1. to hear and decide upon (a case at law)
  2. (tr) to pass judgment on; sentence
  3. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to decide or deem (something) after inquiry or deliberation
  4. to determine the result of (a contest or competition)
  5. to appraise (something) critically
  6. (tr; takes a clause as object) to believe (something) to be the case; suspect
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Derived Formsjudgeable, adjectivejudgeless, adjectivejudgelike, adjectivejudger, nounjudgingly, 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 well-judged

judge

n.

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.

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judge

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with well-judged

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.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.