Word of the Day
: October 14, 2014judgment
playWhat It Means
1 : a formal utterance of an authoritative opinion
2 : a formal decision given by a court
3 : the capacity for judging or the exercise of this capacity
judgment in Context
Theresa showed good judgment by clearing her family out of the house as soon as she smelled gas.
"Christenson said he'll reserve judgment on the larger iPhone 6 until he holds one in his hand." - Neil Nisperos, Redlands Daily Facts (California), September 10, 2014
Did You Know?
Judgment can also be spelled "judgement," and usage experts have long disagreed over which spelling is the preferred one. Henry Fowler asserted, "The OED [Oxford English Dictionary] prefers the older and more reasonable spelling. 'Judgement' is therefore here recommended." William Safire held an opposite opinion, writing, "My judgment is that Fowler is not to be followed." "Judgement" is in fact the older spelling, but it dropped from favor and for centuries "judgment" was the only spelling to appear in dictionaries. That changed when the OED (Fowler's source) was published showing "judgement" as an equal variant. Today, "judgment" is more popular in the U.S., whereas both spellings make a good showing in Britain.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Name That Synonym
Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of judgment referring to "the capacity for judging": d _ s _ _ r _ me _ t. The answer is …
