adjudicate

ad·ju·di·cate | \ ə-ˈjü-di-ˌkāt

adjudicated; adjudicating

Definition of adjudicate

: to make an official decision about who is right in (a dispute) : to settle judicially The school board will adjudicate claims made against teachers.

intransitive verb

: to act as judge The court can adjudicate on this dispute.

Other Words from adjudicate Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about adjudicate

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Did You Know?

Adjudicate is one of several terms that give testimony to the influence of jus, the Latin word for "law," on our legal language. Adjudicate is from the Latin verb adjudicare, from judicare, meaning "to judge," which, in turn, traces to the Latin noun judex, meaning "judge." English has other judex words, such as judgment, judicial,judiciary, and prejudice. If we admit further evidence, we discover that the root of judex is jus, the word for "law." What's the verdict? Latin law words frequently preside in English-speaking courtrooms. In addition to the judex words, jury, justice,injury, and perjury are all ultimately from Latin jus.

Examples of adjudicate in a Sentence

The board will adjudicate claims made against teachers. The case was adjudicated in the state courts. The board will adjudicate when claims are made against teachers.

Recent Examples on the Web This past September, the civil court determined that the matter had already been adjudicated in the guardianship court. — Deirdra Funcheon, Washington Post, "Who Should Get the Artwork of Purvis Young?," 8 Jan. 2020 Hardwick’s rights to her own privacy and pain, claims to be adjudicated not by a court but by friends, critics, and posterity. — Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, "Marriage, Betrayal, and the Letters Behind “The Dolphin”," 9 Dec. 2019 Government overreach or abuse can be adjudicated by the courts, and Facebook can choose not to deploy its services in countries in which governments cannot be trusted. — Wired, "Facebook’s Encryption Makes it Harder to Detect Child Abuse," 25 Oct. 2019 Up to 40 percent of those cases could be adjudicated within 90 days of arrest, the assessment said. — Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com, "High-level talks could result in the release of 500 inmates from Cuyahoga County Jail, sources say," 15 Aug. 2019 Catholic officials around the U.S. have long lobbied against lifting the statute of limitations, arguing that cases from decades ago can’t be fairly adjudicated. — Ian Lovett, WSJ, "Catholic Church Offers Cash to Settle Abuse Claims—With a Catch," 11 July 2019 Each case presents the Supreme Court with a separation-of-powers quandary—how to adjudicate a dispute between branches of the federal government in Trump v Mazars; and between the president and state prosecutors in Trump v Vance. — The Economist, "How will the Supreme Court rule in the fight over Donald Trump’s taxes?," 18 Nov. 2019 The stewards of Maryland’s public records law are seeking greater authority to adjudicate disputes between government agencies and individuals who seek public records from them, without sending the matters to court. — Kevin Rector, baltimoresun.com, "Stewards of Maryland’s public records law seek greater authority to adjudicate disputes," 6 Nov. 2019 Anyone who has lived in a country without any such system knows the vast amounts of resources that are spend on adjudicating land disputes. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: Highway 91 revisited reflects our history," 29 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adjudicate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Adjudicate.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjudicate. Accessed 26 January 2020.

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More Definitions for adjudicate

adjudicate

verb

ad·ju·di·cate | \ ə-ˈjü-di-ˌkāt

adjudicated; adjudicating

Legal Definition of adjudicate

transitive verb

1 : to settle either finally or temporarily (the rights and duties of the parties to a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding) on the merits of the issues raised

2 : to pass judgment on as a judge : settle judicially

3 : to pronounce judicially to be was adjudicated a bankrupt was adjudicated the child's father

4 : to convey by judicial sale

intransitive verb

: to come to a judicial decision : act as judge the court adjudicated upon the case