adjudicator

1
as in referee
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy since they seemed to be in a hopeless stalemate, both labor and management agreed to use an independent adjudicator to decide the terms of the contract

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2
as in judge
a public official having authority to decide questions of law the appellate court refused to hear the case, thus allowing the judgment of previous adjudicators to stand

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adjudicator This led to many longtime employees of companies leaving the United States when USCIS adjudicators rejected their H-1B applications. Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025 Under the plans, an independent body of adjudicators would be created to handle asylum appeals and reduce the backlog of 106,000 cases, including 51,000 appeals with average wait times exceeding a year. Reuters, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025 An official adjudicator from Guinness World Records was onsite, according to the lottery. Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025 Similarly, the program still has eight adjudicators, known as special masters, to review all cases before the government. Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adjudicator
Noun
  • His fellow referees dressed as a fisherman, an admiral and a commander.
    M.L. Elrick, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • While normal interaction between players and referees will continue, the aim is that guidance will stop players from surrounding the referees in key incidents.
    Cerys Jones, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • While the former army officer impressed judges with her delicate sugar work and love of French patisserie, navigating life after her win proved unexpectedly difficult.
    Jane LaCroix, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The Herald filed a letter to the judge on Thursday.
    Julie K. Brown Miami Herald, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Jazz Chisholm also expressed frustration with the umpire after he was called out on strikes.
    Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Johnson grabbed the bat and gathered with the three other umpires in his crew.
    Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • This was a far cry from a year ago, when Muchová and Osaka played each other in the second round and Muchová plotted Osaka’s movements around the court for her, opening up space, then using her touch to drop the ball into it.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Cousins were playing ding, dong, ditch The victim's cousin told investigators that the two were attending a family birthday party about a block away from the scene of the shooting, according to a criminal complaint filed in Harris County court.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adjudicator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adjudicator. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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