adjudicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
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to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially.
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to act as judge of (a contest).
verb (used without object)
verb
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to give a decision (on), esp a formal or binding one
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(intr) to act as an adjudicator
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(tr) chess to determine the likely result of (a game) by counting relative value of pieces, positional strength, etc
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(intr) to serve as a judge or arbiter, as in a competition
Other Word Forms
- adjudication noun
- adjudicative adjective
- adjudicator noun
- adjudicatory adjective
- nonadjudicative adjective
- nonadjudicatively adverb
- readjudicate verb
Etymology
Origin of adjudicate
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin adjūdicātus (past participle of adjūdicāre ); ad-, judge, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“How would it work? How would you adjudicate these cases?”
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026
If the lien was entered incorrectly, you can file a motion to strike or adjudicate the lien in court.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 11, 2026
The point was not to adjudicate whether the books are racist but to see what is revealed by the tropes and codes used to indicate racial difference.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
It warned that allowing plaintiffs to prevail by showing that a justification does not fit them individually would transform intermediate scrutiny into something closer to strict scrutiny, forcing courts to adjudicate exceptions athlete by athlete.
From Slate • Jan. 14, 2026
This enterprise required that certain social and technical preconditions be met: the existence of reliable methods of communication, a common body of expert knowledge and an acknowledged group of experts able to adjudicate disputes.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
