judicial

adjective ju·di·cial \ jü-ˈdi-shəl \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 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

The Trump administration has also weakened the organization by vetoing appointments to its judicial appeals chamber, even though the United States wins the vast majority of its own appeals.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Trump’s Big Trade War Bluff," 5 July 2018
Last week, Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the high court, leaving the door open for another President Trump judicial nomination.

— monica rodriguez, Fortune, "Obama-Era Guidelines on Using Race in College Admissions Decisions To Be Reversed by Trump Administration," 3 July 2018
The Federalist Society is a nationwide organization of conservative lawyers who espouse conservative judicial philosophies.

— sarah midkiff, refinery29.com, "Why It Doesn't Matter If Trump Asks His Supreme Court Nominees About Abortion," 30 June 2018
That agreement then gets added to a larger political pact on judicial nominations between parties that the governor submits, which first has to clear the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee and then must be approved by the full Senate.

— chris brennan, Philly.com, "Judge Beth Grossman? Philly's GOP nominee for DA may be appointed to the court | Clout," 28 June 2018
Flake also said his standards for judicial nominations isn't changing, either.

— ronald j. hansen, azcentral, "Jeff Flake says he won't stall Supreme Court pick over tariff dispute," 28 June 2018
But what’s peaking now is what Geyh labels a third wave of polarization, focused on the use of procedural devices to kill judicial nominations.

— henry gass, The Christian Science Monitor, "With departure of swing vote, a pivotal moment for the Supreme Court," 28 June 2018
But the two pro-choice Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have generally supported Trump’s Cabinet and judicial nominations.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Democrats Scolded For Misusing Mitch McConnell’s Made Up Supreme Court Rule," 28 June 2018
Obama took Biden’s decades-old advice with the nomination of Garland, a centrist judge so well-liked there were no complaints about his qualifications or judicial philosophy, only the timing of his nomination.

— NBC News, "McConnell went 'nuclear' to confirm Gorsuch. But Democrats changed Senate filibuster rules first.," 28 June 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

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