judge 1 of 2

1
as in referee
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy their father always played the role of judge when there was a disagreement between the siblings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in court
a public official having authority to decide questions of law the judge gave the defendant a suspended sentence

Synonyms & Similar Words

judge

2 of 2

verb

1
2
as in to estimate
to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement considering the amount of dough we have, I judge we'll get about six dozen cookies out of it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4

Synonym Chooser

How is the word judge distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of judge are conclude, deduce, gather, and infer. While all these words mean "to arrive at a mental conclusion," judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

judge people by their actions

When could conclude be used to replace judge?

The words conclude and judge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

concluded that only the accused could be guilty

How do deduce and infer relate to one another, in the sense of judge?

Deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality

When is it sensible to use gather instead of judge?

In some situations, the words gather and judge are roughly equivalent. However, gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

gathered their desire to be alone without a word

When can infer be used instead of judge?

While the synonyms infer and judge are close in meaning, infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise.

from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of judge
Noun
Well, a judge and a jury will eventually decide this. ABC News, 19 Oct. 2025 Inside, hundreds of women from around the world await deportation or a chance to see an immigration judge – sometimes for months on end. Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
And judging from the excitement around these moments in every show, the thrill remains even if the person onstage isn't an A-lister. Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025 Bilodeau’s attorney said the original investigators’ gaffe with the case proves people shouldn’t rush to judge him now. Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for judge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for judge
Noun
  • That’s been done either by having referees call phantom penalties on Chiefs opponents or not flagging Kansas City players.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Oct. 2025
  • No penalty was called and Rust, who rarely shows any emotion in the direction of officials, merely sat on the ice for a moment staring down the referee.
    Josh Yohe, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Bilodeau was arrested Tuesday and arraigned in a Nassau County court Wednesday morning.
    Lauren del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Still, Mazzulla has let his new guard hear about his mistakes on that end of the court.
    Jay King, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • As the team struggles with grief, Sharon decides to pull Station 42 off active duty entirely, rather than assign a new captain.
    Alamin Yohannes, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025
  • When New Jersey suddenly came down hard on business, neighbouring Delaware decided to rewrite its rulebook to scoop up companies fleeing the state.
    Jan Hammer, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Humans aren’t very good at estimating meal components down to the gram, and measuring every mouthful of food requires intense devotion.
    Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
  • But calculations that took Starship Version 2’s performance into account estimated that figure could be far higher — perhaps requiring as many as 40 tankers, according to one former NASA official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trade patterns and alliances may shift but great companies understand the importance of rotating across geographies to develop talent for leadership roles.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Lyra’s quest to understand Dust brings her into confrontation with human and other worldly forces who champion moral absolutism over imagination, ignorance over knowledge, authoritarianism over free will and cold, disinterested rationality over empathy.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • However, Duan cautions against thinking that AI will replace engineers.
    Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Business leaders and boosters—if not the public library’s archivist—thought rumors and legends and sub-cellars, basements, coal chutes, and other subterranean utility spaces made for a marketable product.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The umpire called Robinson safe, while Berra animatedly disagreed.
    Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Raducanu saw the man during her match against Karolína Muchová, approaching the chair umpire in tears during the second game.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • At his first probable cause court appearance Wednesday, Finney did not appear as he being held in a mental health unit, according to the magistrate.
    Mason Leath, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The felony charge was quickly dismissed, but the magistrate who made that decision was overruled by Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Stacey DeGraffenreid.
    Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/judge. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on judge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!