judicial

adjective ju·di·cial \ jü-ˈdi-shəl \

Updated on: 13 May 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

—

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

Landrieu writes about his inability to get contractors or equipment from in-state even after approval from the legislative, judicial, and executives branches of government.

— CBS News, "New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu looks back on his eight years in office," 5 May 2018
Instead, Ohio's reforms would offer judges a suite of risk-assessment tools to maximize judicial and local flexibility tome the needs of each jurisdiction.

— adam ferrise, cleveland.com, "Man charged in fatal shooting outside Cleveland liquor store," 1 May 2018
Mitch McConnell wants to approve as many judicial and executive nominees as possible before the fall.

— dylan scott, Vox, "6 reasons Obamacare repeal (probably) isn’t coming back in 2018," 30 Apr. 2018
In Oregon in the 1840s, Burnett proved an ambitious, go-ahead leader in political and judicial pursuits.

— special to the oregonian, OregonLive.com, "Biography restores Peter Burnett to front pages of West Coast history," 26 Apr. 2018
While the argument was officially over the difference between the executive and judicial branch, this was really a dispute about the nature of patent rights.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Supreme Court upholds patent review process, dealing trolls a blow," 24 Apr. 2018
In light of the corruption allegations flying this week involving the electoral, judicial, transportation, gas, nuclear, religious, real estate, and general business sectors, the U.S. government should have a menu of options to choose from.

— melissa hooper, The New Republic, "A Humble Proposal to Sanction Some Hungarian Kleptocrats," 4 Apr. 2018
There is no precedent in Connecticut, judicial or political, for the partisan vitriol over McDonald, a justice on the state Supreme Court since 2013.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "Analysis: Doomed Nomination Of Chief Justice Pick Sets Bitter Tone For Midterm Election," 27 Mar. 2018
There were many other manifestation of liberal values in legislative, executive and judicial action.

— steve haycox, Anchorage Daily News, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Alaska was a blue state," 25 Jan. 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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