1
as in referees
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
Relevance
2
as in courts
a public official having authority to decide questions of law
the judge gave the defendant a suspended sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in decides
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)
the committee will judge the case solely on the evidence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in estimates
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in derives
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
4
as in thinks
to have as an opinion
I judge that he knew what kind of woman she was when he married her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of judges
Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
RuPaul’s Drag Race features mainstay judges RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and Ts Madison.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
OpenAI continued to destroy output logs despite orders from two judges to preserve and provide them to the news organizations, new court filings allege.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
As judges, students will be operating on-campus early voting sites specially instituted for the initiative.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
That being said, judges are allowed to keep a binder to write down clues.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Williams was able to petition for resentencing due to a law enacted in 2011 that allowed judges to give juvenile offenders with life without parole sentences a chance to be resentenced.
—CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
The goal is to highlight Karrie’s features that will hopefully impress the judges and even have an opportunity to lessen the impact of anything that might lower his score.
—Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026
The guidelines are recommendations only, intended to help judges fashion fair sentences that are consistent with how offenders are treated in courts nationwide.
—Kevin Krause, Dallas Morning News, 6 Jan. 2026
Thomas Smith, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
Joining judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough this week is former dancing pro Kym Johnson.
—Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025
As West reports, Dubno’s update puts us in the head of an unnamed twentysomething who judges her peers at a cocktail party.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
Along with hosting Taskmaster, Horne serves as the umpire for each challenge, while Davies judges the performances and awards points on how well the contestants do.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 25 Sep. 2025
Your point about being present reminds me of the scene where Jack judges the girl for taking a selfie on the rooftop and Heather calls him out.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Figuring out critical consensus requires polling your community, and with more films being made and submitted to festivals than ever before, who judges these competition matters.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Aug. 2025
That shift — from hype to proof — is redefining how the market judges AI investments.
—Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Who are the Red Bull Flugtag judges?
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 12 Aug. 2023
Noun
Regardless of which party is calling for the impeachment of judges, the outcome is unlikely to result in a conviction by the Senate.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
RuPaul’s Drag Race features mainstay judges RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and Ts Madison.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
OpenAI continued to destroy output logs despite orders from two judges to preserve and provide them to the news organizations, new court filings allege.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
As judges, students will be operating on-campus early voting sites specially instituted for the initiative.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
That being said, judges are allowed to keep a binder to write down clues.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Williams was able to petition for resentencing due to a law enacted in 2011 that allowed judges to give juvenile offenders with life without parole sentences a chance to be resentenced.
—CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
The goal is to highlight Karrie’s features that will hopefully impress the judges and even have an opportunity to lessen the impact of anything that might lower his score.
—Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026
The guidelines are recommendations only, intended to help judges fashion fair sentences that are consistent with how offenders are treated in courts nationwide.
—Kevin Krause, Dallas Morning News, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
The winner was chosen by an independent panel, which each year judges the entries on artistic achievement.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
Joining judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough this week is former dancing pro Kym Johnson.
—Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025
As West reports, Dubno’s update puts us in the head of an unnamed twentysomething who judges her peers at a cocktail party.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
Along with hosting Taskmaster, Horne serves as the umpire for each challenge, while Davies judges the performances and awards points on how well the contestants do.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 25 Sep. 2025
Your point about being present reminds me of the scene where Jack judges the girl for taking a selfie on the rooftop and Heather calls him out.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Figuring out critical consensus requires polling your community, and with more films being made and submitted to festivals than ever before, who judges these competition matters.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Aug. 2025
That shift — from hype to proof — is redefining how the market judges AI investments.
—Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Who are the Red Bull Flugtag judges?
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 12 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for judges
Noun
-
Compared to cricket and rugby, perhaps compared to other footballing countries, referees regularly make high-profile mistakes in the Premier League, and the introduction of the VAR system has been shambolic at times.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
That makes the task of sorting wheat from chaff much more time-consuming for editors and referees, and also more technically difficult.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Department of Justice last month sued the clerk of the Fulton County superior and magistrate courts in federal court seeking access to documents from the 2020 election in the county.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The Budapest Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday asked the courts to level a fine against Karacsony for stepping in to co-organize the event under the auspices of the capital municipality, according a statement published on Wednesday.—
Thomas Escritt,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Amazon is spending heavily on marketing — even as the company shed 16,000 workers just days before the film’s release — possibly because Prime Video exec Mike Hopkins, the guy who ultimately decides marketing budgets for the streamer’s films, is known to lean conservative.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Who decides to ask the questions, and who decides to write?—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Blackrock estimates that retail investors now account for almost 20% of average daily flows, up from low-single digit percentages before the pandemic.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The Census Bureau annually estimates the population for the entire country and the states.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
His modeling and social media career derives much of its power from his notable surname.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Such is the strength of his conviction, the prince wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare, that his public rift with other members of the royal family derives from their unwillingness to stand up to the tabloids.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
When considering long-term use, Alpert thinks about several factors.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Dieu thinks kids may be to blame.—
Tori Apodaca,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Years ago, Major League Baseball had a crisis in which umpires notoriously had their own versions of the strike zone for batters.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
That committee is set to vote later this year on managers, executives and umpires, with Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker among those who could be elected for the Class of 2027.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The state's top jurists gather every November for an annual chili cook off.—
Nashville Tennessean,
Nashville Tennessean,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Amid the reporting, his chief judge banned jurists at his court from including chats during court livestreams .—
Darcie Moran,
Freep.com,
13 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Judges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/judges. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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