Synonyms of judge

judge 1 of 2

noun

ˈjəj 

1

as in referee

a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy

their father always played the role of judge when there was a disagreement between the siblings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• referee
• umpire
• magistrate
• arbitrator
• arbiter
• moderator
• negotiator
• jurist
• adjudicator
• mediator
• justice
• intermediary
• intermediate
• peacemaker
• conciliator
• mediatrix
• reconciler
• troubleshooter
• decider
• go-between

2

as in court

a public official having authority to decide questions of law

the judge gave the defendant a suspended sentence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• court
• magistrate
• jurist
• bench
• justice
• adjudicator
• circuit judge
• auditor
• chief justice
• justice of the peace
• beak
• master
• squire
• jurisconsult
• jurisprudent

judge

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to decide

to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)

the committee will judge the case solely on the evidence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decide
• determine
• settle
• adjudicate
• adjudge
• arbitrate
• consider
• prosecute
• hear
• rule (on)
• referee
• resolve
• umpire
• weigh
• conclude
• deem
• ponder
• try
• deliberate
• mediate
• negotiate
• moderate
• find (for or against)
• redetermine
• size up
• rejudge

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hedge
• skirt
• equivocate
• pussyfoot

2

as in to estimate

to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement

considering the amount of dough we have, I judge we'll get about six dozen cookies out of it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• estimate
• calculate
• guess
• figure
• suppose
• make
• gauge
• put
• reckon
• understand
• place
• call
• conclude
• infer
• conjecture
• deduce
• gather
• extrapolate
• reason

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• measure
• scale
• compute
• calibrate
• work out

3

as in to understand

to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information

I judge that the girl has had a troubled relationship with her mother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understand
• decide
• derive
• infer
• conclude
• think
• guess
• deduce
• extrapolate
• reason
• assume
• speculate
• make out
• suppose
• ascertain
• read
• gather
• interpret
• draw a conclusion
• surmise
• contemplate
• construe
• conjecture
• rationalize
• find out
• philosophize
• dope (out)

4

as in to think

to have as an opinion

I judge that he knew what kind of woman she was when he married her

Synonyms & Similar Words

• think
• believe
• guess
• consider
• imagine
• figure
• suppose
• feel
• deem
• perceive
• conceive
• hold
• allow
• reckon
• assume
• esteem
• accept
• view
• presume
• regard
• depend
• rely
• trust
• infer
• conclude
• surmise
• deduce
• presuppose

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• suspect
• doubt
• question
• reject
• distrust
• discredit
• mistrust
• disbelieve

Synonym Chooser

How is the word judge distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of judge are conclude, deduce, gather, and infer. While all these words mean "to arrive at a mental conclusion," judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

judge people by their actions

When could conclude be used to replace judge?

The words conclude and judge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

concluded that only the accused could be guilty

How do deduce and infer relate to one another, in the sense of judge?

Deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality

When is it sensible to use gather instead of judge?

In some situations, the words gather and judge are roughly equivalent. However, gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

gathered their desire to be alone without a word

When can infer be used instead of judge?

While the synonyms infer and judge are close in meaning, infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise.

from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of judge

Noun

However, a federal judge temporarily blocked the changes in March. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 15 May 2026

That conviction was tossed in 2024 when the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge wrongly allowed women whose allegations were not involved in the case to testify. —Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026

Verb

Performers are judged by juries in participating nations and viewers around the world, and this year the broadcasting union tightened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations. —ABC News, 13 May 2026

Fans familiar with Coraline and ParaNorman will recognize the Laika animation style but, judging by the trailer, Wildwood is a step up in scale and ambition. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026