1
as in referee
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy
since they seemed to be in a hopeless stalemate, both labor and management agreed to use an independent adjudicator to decide the terms of the contract
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in judge
a public official having authority to decide questions of law
the appellate court refused to hear the case, thus allowing the judgment of previous adjudicators to stand
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Recent Examples of adjudicator
Michael Empric, a Guinness World Records adjudicator, said rules require all food used in record attempts to be eaten or donated.
—
Tassanee Vejpongsa, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026
Michael Empric, a Guinness World Records adjudicator, said rules require all food used in record attempts to be eaten or donated.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
The Record-Breaking Moment The official attempt took place on the Italian TV show Lo Show Dei Record in Milan, with Guinness World Records adjudicator Sofia Greenacre overseeing the proceedings.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Mar. 2026
The department disputes that, saying judges are independent adjudicators who decide cases individually.
—Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Thomas Bradford is one of 81 adjudicators the company employs across six continents.
—Cecilia Vega, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Lahoud said the adjudicators follow a flowchart — and if the applicant meets the minimum criteria, the person can expect an approval notice to arrive within days.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026
In a video tour of his collection with a Guinness adjudicator, Kardinal shared some of the stories behind his snow globes, which are lined up on shelves filling multiple rooms of the basement of his home.
—Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 4 Jan. 2026
Decker, in another YouTube video, set the record for the most pizza restaurants visited in New York City in 24 hours, with a Guinness World Records adjudicator at his side.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
Tassanee Vejpongsa, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026
Michael Empric, a Guinness World Records adjudicator, said rules require all food used in record attempts to be eaten or donated.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
The Record-Breaking Moment The official attempt took place on the Italian TV show Lo Show Dei Record in Milan, with Guinness World Records adjudicator Sofia Greenacre overseeing the proceedings.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Mar. 2026
The department disputes that, saying judges are independent adjudicators who decide cases individually.
—Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Thomas Bradford is one of 81 adjudicators the company employs across six continents.
—Cecilia Vega, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Lahoud said the adjudicators follow a flowchart — and if the applicant meets the minimum criteria, the person can expect an approval notice to arrive within days.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026
In a video tour of his collection with a Guinness adjudicator, Kardinal shared some of the stories behind his snow globes, which are lined up on shelves filling multiple rooms of the basement of his home.
—Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 4 Jan. 2026
Decker, in another YouTube video, set the record for the most pizza restaurants visited in New York City in 24 hours, with a Guinness World Records adjudicator at his side.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adjudicator
Noun
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Last year, Republicans also had to deal with days of trading paper with the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan referee of Senate rules who gets to decide whether language complies with budget reconciliation.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Bless the referees working that game.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The judge scheduled a court hearing for April 2 to consider approving the deal.—
Luc Cohen,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The deal must still be approved by a judge.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Baseball is changing at a dizzying speed in 2026 with the arrival of robot umpires, the return home of the Tampa Bay Rays and an alphabet soup of networks televising games in perhaps the last season before a labor shutdown.—
Ronald Blum,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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The system, made up of multiple high-resolution cameras, analyzes every pitch relative to the home plate umpire's strike zone.—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Federal officials can then query that data and unmask the identities of Americans whose communications have been collected, a process critics say creates a backdoor way to search private citizens’ information without court approval.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
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Agee is due back in court on March 26 for a probable cause conference and on April 2 for a preliminary examination.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adjudicator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adjudicator. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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