Synonyms of indictment

indictment

noun

in-ˈdīt-mənt 

as in count

a formal claim of criminal wrongdoing against a person

that prosecutor gets an indictment for 90% of his cases

Synonyms & Similar Words

• count
• allegation
• charge
• accusation
• complaint
• rap
• plea
• impeachment
• arraignment
• condemnation
• crimination
• denunciation
• implication
• insinuation
• incrimination
• innuendo
• imputation
• countercharge
• censure
• counteraccusation
• recrimination

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of indictment

The district attorney's office opposed Mangione's attempt to dismiss his state indictment, which charged him with murdering UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in December 2024. — ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026

The federal murder charge is predicated on being carried out through a violent crime that must also be charged in the indictment. — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 9 Oct. 2026

The enterprise sent tow truck drivers to traffic accident scenes to solicit business, who then lied to get permission to tow the vehicles, according to the indictment. — Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026

Those who wanted to participate were instructed to register online and provide their health insurance information and were told all fees would be covered, the indictment said. — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

Video

Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

Editor Peter Sokolowski explains how the spelling of indict was changed to reflect its Latin roots. For more, read "Why Do We Skip the C in Indict".

Transcript

The word indict is spelled I-N-D-I-C-T, but why is the C silent? Other legal terms in English, that come from the same Latin root, dicere, which means to say, have C's that we actually hear. Words like edict, interdict, and verdict. Indict means to formally decide that someone should be put on trial for a crime. It comes from the Latin word that means to proclaim. We pronounce it indict because its original spelling in English was E-N-D-I-T-E, a spelling that was used for 300 years before scholars decided to make it look more like its Latin root word, indictare. Our pronunciation, however, still reflects the original English spelling. This after-the-fact correction of spellings, based on Latin, is also why there's a B in the words debt, doubt, plumber, and subtle, and a silent S in island.