judge

noun

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\ ˈjəj

Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

: one who makes judgments: such as

a : a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court

b : one appointed to decide in a contest or competition : umpire

c : one who gives an authoritative opinion

d : critic

e often capitalized : a tribal hero exercising leadership among the Hebrews after the death of Joshua

judge

verb

judged; judging

Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises

2 : to form an estimate or evaluation of trying to judge the amount of time required especially : to form a negative opinion about shouldn't judge him because of his accent

3 : to hold as an opinion : guess, think I judge she knew what she was doing

4 : to sit in judgment on : try judge a case

5 : to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation They judged him guilty.

6 : govern, rule —used of a Hebrew tribal leader

intransitive verb

1 : to form an opinion

2 : to decide as a judge

Other Words from judge Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Phrases Containing judge Learn More About judge

Choose the Right Synonym for judge

Verb

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. 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 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 conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning. concluded that only the accused could be guilty judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based. judge people by their actions gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications. gathered their desire to be alone without a word

Examples of judge in a Sentence

Noun She's one of the strictest judges in the state. He served as a judge at the baking contest. “I don't think we should trust her.” “Let me be the judge of that.” She is a good judge of character. Verb You should not judge people by their appearance. He was trying to judge the strength of his opponent. We should do whatever we judge to be the right thing. Who are you to judge me? He feels that they have judged him unfairly. Don't judge her too severely. The jury will be asked to judge the defendant's guilt. If you are accused of a crime you have the right to be judged by a jury of your peers. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The housewares guru, now 55, has since built a nearly $100 million worldwide design business, written a book, and been a judge on HGTV. — Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 23 June 2022 Remini isn't the only judge whose qualifications have been questioned. — Joelle Goldstein, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 When Tove Lo appeared as a guest judge on an episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race last week, fans lost it when she was introduced using the correct pronunciation of her name. — Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 22 June 2022 As a long-time judge on Dancing With the Stars, Carrie Ann Inaba has been privy to seeing plenty of changes on the dance floor. — Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 20 June 2022 Lam, the new justice secretary, has been a deputy judge of the city’s high court since 2015. — Reuters, NBC News, 19 June 2022 The other, former chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon, is set to face trial July 18 after a judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss his indictment. — BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2022 The other, former chief White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, is set to face trial July 18 after a judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss his indictment. — Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 17 June 2022 McFadden, whom Trump nominated in 2017, is the only judge to a hold a bench trial for a Capitol riot case so far. — Michael Kunzelman, ajc, 13 June 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb History will not judge the Jerome Powell Federal Reserve kindly. — Desmond Lachman For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, 16 June 2022 Ian Harris of the Gérard Basset Foundation, Hélène Génin of Château Latour and Jean Garandeau of Artémis Domaines will judge the applications. — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 2 June 2022 Geoff Gardner, principle culinary manager of Whole Foods, will judge. — Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2022 Celebrities Paula Abdul, Leslie Jordan, and Yvette Nicole Brown will judge. — oregonlive, 25 May 2022 Newton Director of Human Resources Michelle Pizzi O’Brien said the city will not judge internal and external candidates differently. — Charles Moore And Justin Tang, BostonGlobe.com, 4 May 2022 Science can identify how much risk the smokers are taking, but nobody can judge for another human being how much risk is acceptable for a sense of pleasure. — Bill Conerly, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2022 While many programs look holistically at students and judge them based on their academic and extracurricular qualifications, others are looking for a specific type of student or one with specific items on their resume. — Kristen Moon, Forbes, 5 June 2022 Like, people want to judge him in comparison with the guys who are making thirty or forty million dollars. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'judge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for judge

Noun

Middle English juge, from Anglo-French, from Latin judex — see judge entry 2

Verb

Middle English juggen, from Anglo-French juger, from Latin judicare, from judic-, judex judge, from jus right, law + dicere to decide, say — more at just, diction

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Dictionary Entries Near judge

Judg

judge

judge advocate

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Last Updated

28 Jun 2022

Cite this Entry

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judge. Accessed 30 Jun. 2022.

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More Definitions for judge

judge

verb

\ ˈjəj

judged; judging

Kids Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to form an opinion after careful consideration I judged the distance badly.

2 : to act with authority to reach a decision (as in a trial)

3 : think sense 1 What do you judge is the best solution?

4 : to form an opinion of in comparison with others She judged pies at the fair.

judge

noun

Kids Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a public official whose duty is to decide questions brought before a court

2 : a person appointed to decide in a contest or competition

3 : a person with the experience to give a meaningful opinion : critic He's a good judge of talent.

judge

verb

\ ˈjəj

judged; judging

Legal Definition of judge

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to hear and decide (as a litigated question) in a court of justice judge a case

2 : to pronounce after inquiry and deliberation he was judged incompetent

intransitive verb

: to make a determination : decide judge between two accounts

judge

noun

Legal Definition of judge (Entry 2 of 2)

: a public official vested with the authority to hear, determine, and preside over legal matters brought in court also : one (as a justice of the peace) who performs one or more functions of such an official