judicial

adjective ju·di·cial \ jü-ˈdi-shəl \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

1 a : of or relating to a judgment, the function of judging, the administration of justice, or the judiciary

judicial processes

judicial powers

b : belonging to the branch of government that is charged with trying all cases that involve the government and with the administration of justice within its jurisdiction — compare executive, legislative

2 : ordered or enforced by a court

a judicial sale

3 : belonging or appropriate to a judge or the judiciary

judicial robes

judicial dignity

4 : of, characterized by, or expressing judgment : critical 2d

5 : arising from a judgment of God

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judicially

play \jü-ˈdi-sh(ə-)lē\ adverb

See judicial defined for English-language learners

See judicial defined for kids

Examples of judicial in a Sentence

the judicial branch of government

Recent Examples of judicial from the Web

To be sure, there is a long history of judicial nominees hedging on controversial issues, especially current ones.

— drew broach, NOLA.com, "Wendy Vitter won't say if Supreme Court was right to outlaw segregated schools," 12 Apr. 2018
Wednesday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee started the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s latest judicial nominee, attorney Wendy Vitter.

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "Trump’s Latest Judicial Nominee Said Planned Parenthood Kills ‘150,000 Females a Year’," 11 Apr. 2018
Ultimately, these strong-arm tactics used against the immigration courts is a reminder that EOIR is an arm of the Department of Justice rather than part of the judicial branch.

— jeremy mckinney, Fortune, "Commentary: America's Immigration Court System Is in Trouble," 11 Apr. 2018
The Constitution says less about the judicial branch than the others, but that belies its importance.

— peter j. wallison, WSJ, "Judges Can Check the Administrative State," 5 Apr. 2018
For many conservative activists, judicial nominees are an important issue, giving McConnell's emerging pitch on behalf of Republican Senate candidates some potential to energize them.

— sean sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "McConnell on midterms: 'We don't know whether it's going to be a Category 3, 4 or 5'," 4 Apr. 2018
Oliver also argued that immigration courts should be under the judicial branch and not the Justice Department, which currently oversees the system.

— sean smyth, BostonGlobe.com, "‘The system is complete mess,’ John Oliver says about immigration courts," 2 Apr. 2018
The difference between the bills is when the judicial branch would get involved in the process of firing the special counsel.

— tara golshan, Vox, "The constitutional debate around protecting Robert Mueller’s job, explained," 29 Mar. 2018
Holcomb and Indiana Supreme Court Justice Loretta Rush also announced new harassment training policies for the executive and judicial branches.

— tony cook, Indianapolis Star, "For the first time, Indiana lawmakers will be subject to a sexual harassment policy," 22 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of judicial

Middle English, from Latin judicialis, from judicium judgment, from judex — see ²judge

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First Known Use: 14th century

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JUDICIAL Defined for English Language Learners

judicial

adjective

: of or relating to courts of law or judges
: ordered or done by a court
: responsible for dealing with all legal cases involving the government

JUDICIAL Defined for Kids

judicial

adjective ju·di·cial \ jü-ˈdi-shəl \

1 : of courts or judges

the judicial branch

2 : ordered or done by a court

judicial review

—

judicially

adverb

Law Dictionary

judicial

adjective ju·di·cial \ jü-ˈdi-shəl \

1 a : of or relating to a judgment, the function of judging, the administration of justice, or the judiciary

b : of, relating to, or being the branch of government that is charged with trying all cases that involve the government and with the administration of justice within its jurisdiction — compare administrative 2, executive 1, legislative

2 : created, ordered, or enforced by a court