judge

play

noun \ ˈjəj \

Definition of judge

: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

play \ˈjəj-ˌship\ noun

See judge defined for English-language learners

Examples of judge in a Sentence

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 of judge from the Web

Will al-Werfalli ever end up facing judges in The Hague?

— mark kersten, Washington Post, "Will the International Criminal Court’s latest target in Libya be brought to justice?," 31 Aug. 2017
The judge noted that Ratcliff had completed almost three years of probation before the violation.

— clifford ward, Wheaton Glen Ellyn, "Ex-Wheaton College professor imprisoned for viewing film with nude children," 30 Aug. 2017
Committee members include Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties' elected judges-executive, corporate representatives, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare.

— chris mayhew, Cincinnati.com, "NKY schools get behind voluntary drug test clubs," 30 Aug. 2017
The lawsuit, which seeks a consent decree overseen by a judge, represents a state-level response to federal reluctance to accuse police departments of systemic wrongdoing.

— mitch smith, New York Times, "Illinois Attorney General Sues Chicago Over Police Practices," 29 Aug. 2017
This outcome defied both logic and the law, the judge insisted.

— mark miller, National Review, "The Feds and the Frog: Private Landowners Stand to Lose on 1,500 Acres," 28 Aug. 2017
As a condition of his release, Woulfe must surrender his passport and cannot operate a motor vehicle, the judge ordered.

— zak koeske, Daily Southtown, "Bond reduced for Beecher man charged in fatal crash," 25 Aug. 2017
Enough probable cause was developed for a judge to sign a search warrant on Aug. 10.

— by jessica de leon, miamiherald, "He sold drugs from filthy Florida home filled with roaches, rodents and kids, cops say," 24 Aug. 2017
This year's Best in Show award from the judges went to Kyle Wilson of Left Behind Photography in Clayton, N.C.

— The Aegis, "Havre de Grace Art Show's 2017 winners," 24 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of judge

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

judge Synonyms

Synonyms

adjudicator, arbiter, arbitrator, referee, umpire

Related Words

jurist, justice, magistrate; intermediary, intermediate, mediator, mediatrix, moderator, negotiator; conciliator, go-between, peacemaker, reconciler, troubleshooter; decider

judge

verb

Definition of judge

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

See judge defined for English-language learners

See judge defined for kids

Examples of judge in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of judge from the Web

Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties.

— michael graczyk, The Seattle Times, "Battered by Harvey, Houston braces for even more flooding," 28 Aug. 2017
Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties.

— michael graczyk, chicagotribune.com, "Rescuers pluck hundreds from rising floodwaters in Houston," 28 Aug. 2017
Taylor Swift is back and grittier than ever, but judging from the reaction on social media many fans aren’t buying it.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Taylor Swift roasted online after dropping new song, gritty image rebrand," 25 Aug. 2017
Riders are judged on their horsemanship and ability to pop the most balloons.

— chris mayhew, Cincinnati.com, "Alexandria Fair parades bigger beauty pageants," 21 Aug. 2017
Judging by the jagged pattern his sheering created, Gordon would relish a pumpkin-carving competition.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Melvin Gordon embraces Gurley rivalry," 4 Aug. 2017
Hospitals were judged on patients discharged between July 2013 and June 2016.

— jordan rau, Kaiser Health News, "Under Trump, Hospitals Face Same Penalties Embraced By Obama," 3 Aug. 2017
Entries will be judged based on creativity and originality, so start drafting your answers now.

— lyndsey matthews, House Beautiful, "You Could Win a Trip to Oregon to See the Total Solar Eclipse," 1 Aug. 2017
The difficulty for pound traders is judging what Brexit will look like by then, given the see-sawing nature of negotiations.

— david goodman, Bloomberg.com, "Brexit Bulletin: Glimmers of Hope," 19 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of judge

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

judge Synonyms

Synonyms

adjudge, adjudicate, arbitrate, decide, determine, referee, rule (on), settle, umpire

Related Words

consider, deem, deliberate, hear, ponder, weigh; size up; mediate, moderate, negotiate; prosecute, try; find (for or against); conclude, resolve; redetermine, rejudge

Near Antonyms

equivocate, hedge, pussyfoot, skirt

Synonym Discussion of 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

JUDGE Defined for English Language Learners

judge

play

verb

Definition of judge for English Language Learners

: to form an opinion about (something or someone) after careful thought
: to regard (someone) as either good or bad
law : to make an official decision about (a legal case)

judge

noun

Definition of judge for English Language Learners

law : a person who has the power to make decisions on cases brought before a court of law
: a person who decides the winner in a contest or competition
: a person who makes a decision or judgment

JUDGE Defined for Kids

judge

play

verb \ ˈjəj \

Definition of judge for Students

judged; judging

1 :to form an opinion after careful consideration

I judged the distance badly.

2 :to act with authority to reach a decision (as in a trial)

3 :think 1 What do you judge is the best solution?

4 :to form an opinion of in comparison with others

She judged pies at the fair.

Word Root of judge

The Latin word jus, meaning “law” or “rights,” and its form juris give us the roots jus and jur. Words from the Latin jus have something to do with law. A juror is a person who decides the facts of a case in a court of law. A jury is a group of jurors. When a decision in a court is just, it is fair and right and agrees with the law. Even the first two letters of judge, to form an opinion about whether something follows the law and is right, come from jus.

judge

noun

Definition of judge for Students

1 :a public official whose duty is to decide questions brought before a court

2 :a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition

3 :a person with the experience to give a meaningful opinion :critic He's a good judge of talent.

Law Dictionary

judge

play

verb \ ˈjəj \

legal Definition of judge

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

Origin and Etymology of judge

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

judge

noun

legal Definition of judge

: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