judge

1 of 2

noun

: one who makes judgments: such as
a
: a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court
b
: one appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire
c
: one who gives an authoritative opinion
d
: critic
e
often capitalized : a tribal hero exercising leadership among the Hebrews after the death of Joshua
judgeship noun

judge

2 of 2

verb

judged; judging

transitive verb

1
: to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises
2
: to form an estimate or evaluation of
trying to judge the amount of time required
especially : to form a negative opinion about
shouldn't judge him because of his accent
3
: to hold as an opinion : guess, think
I judge she knew what she was doing
4
: to sit in judgment on : try
judge a case
5
: to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation
They judged him guilty.
6
: govern, rule
used of a Hebrew tribal leader

intransitive verb

1
: to form an opinion
2
: to decide as a judge
judger noun
Choose the Right Synonym for judge

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion.

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

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

conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

concluded that only the accused could be guilty

judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

judge people by their actions

gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

gathered their desire to be alone without a word

Examples of judge in a Sentence

Noun She's one of the strictest judges in the state. He served as a judge at the baking contest. “I don't think we should trust her.” “Let me be the judge of that.” She is a good judge of character. Verb You should not judge people by their appearance. He was trying to judge the strength of his opponent. We should do whatever we judge to be the right thing. Who are you to judge me? He feels that they have judged him unfairly. Don't judge her too severely. The jury will be asked to judge the defendant's guilt. If you are accused of a crime you have the right to be judged by a jury of your peers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On Monday night’s (March 17) audition episode of American Idol, 20-year-old Las Vegas native Athena Jett came in with confidence and a voice that should have at least gotten her a look from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 18 Mar. 2024 The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said Alvarez went before a Hingham District Court judge on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to a single count of aggravated rape of a child. Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Mar. 2024 Lawson earned two degrees from the University of Michigan, then became a lawyer, the civil rights director for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, and a judge. Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2024 Superior Court judge on Friday ordered Hairston detained. Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 The backlog in the immigration courts surpassed three million cases last year, and there are not nearly enough judges and interpreters to tackle it effectively. Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024 Fani Willis can stay on the Georgia Trump case only if her former romantic partner leaves, a judge says. Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 For starters, a judge still needs to sign off on the settlement, which also would put in place a slew of new rules. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The judges thought Goldfish could be Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, Lucy Hale, Lea Michele or Carly Rae Jepsen. Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
The couple elopes in Atlantic City with friends in tow and without the judging eyes of Marshall's family. Ew Staff Updated, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024 Finally, wars are fought for political ends and are therefore most often judged by their ability to achieve those ends. Andrew Exum, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024 Each year, dozens of Arizona wineries submit hundreds of wines spanning sparkling, rose, white, red and dessert to be judged in a blind tasting by a panel of sommeliers, chefs, distributors and other wine experts from the Phoenix food and dining industry. Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 18 Mar. 2024 The annual event judges the work of 2,849 entries at 89 Michigan newspapers, with the Free Press earning first-place wins for public service, column writing, podcasting and political reporting. Detroit Free Press, 15 Mar. 2024 Civilian board members, the union argued, are more likely to judge an officer’s actions dispassionately, without worrying about how a decision might affect their careers. Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Court of Appeals 12th District Court of Appeals (Butler, Warren, Clermont and other counties): Two Republican women, judge Barbara Carter and lawyer Melena Siebert, are running for a six-year term on the court. Erin Glynn, The Enquirer, 12 Mar. 2024 Madonna has welcomed an array of different celebrities to help her judge the Celebration Tour’s ballroom contest. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2024 Israel’s policies towards the Palestinian people will henceforth be judged on their own merits rather than against the long shadow of European history. Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'judge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English juge, from Anglo-French, from Latin judex — see judge entry 2

Verb

Middle English juggen, from Anglo-French juger, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say — more at just, diction

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of judge was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near judge

Cite this Entry

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judge. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

judge

1 of 2 verb
judged; judging
1
: to form an opinion after careful consideration
2
: to decide as a judge : try
3
: to reach a conclusion about something : think

judge

2 of 2 noun
1
: a public official having authority to decide questions brought before a court
2
: a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire
3
: a person who is qualified to give an opinion : critic
judgeship noun
Etymology

Verb

Middle English juggen "to judge," from early French juger (same meaning), from Latin judicare "to judge," from judic-, judex "judge," from jus "right, law," and dicere "to say" — related to hoosegow, jury, just, prejudice

Legal Definition

judge

1 of 2 verb
judged; judging

transitive verb

1
: to hear and decide (as a litigated question) in a court of justice
judge a case
2
: to pronounce after inquiry and deliberation
he was judged incompetent

intransitive verb

: to make a determination : decide
judge between two accounts

judge

2 of 2 noun
: a public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court
also : one (as a justice of the peace) who performs one or more functions of such an official
Etymology

Verb

Old French jugier, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say

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