prejudge

American  

[pree-juhj] / priˈdʒʌdʒ /

verb (used with object)

prejudged, prejudging

1. to judge beforehand.

2. to pass judgment on prematurely or without sufficient reflection or investigation.

---

prejudge British  

/ priːˈdʒʌdʒ /

verb

1. (tr) to judge beforehand, esp without sufficient evidence

---

Other Word Forms

• prejudger noun
• prejudgment noun

Etymology

Origin of prejudge

1555–65; < French préjuger < Latin praejūdicāre. See pre-, judge

Explanation

To prejudge is to make a decision about something before you have all the facts. If you prejudge a game, you decide who’s going to win before it starts. Better hold off on the victory party until it’s over. When you judge someone or something, you "form an opinion or a conclusion" about it. Adding the "before" prefix pre- to that means you come to this conclusion before you should. If an actual judge in a court of law were to prejudge her cases, she'd make her decisions before hearing any evidence at all. When you prejudge, you count your chickens before they hatch.

Example Sentences

The Clacton MP said he spoke with him a "couple of weeks ago" and said: "I hope we can sort things out. I don't want to prejudge anything".

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Monday's step does not prejudge the outcome of the probe, the commission said.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

For the overall effect of the film, it was very important that everyone keep a natural tone and not judge or prejudge their character.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024

“And to the extent we can understand what theirs is, that would be the goal. And then I can’t prejudge what happens from there.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2024

“You cannot prejudge people in this business,” he said over and over when we met, and each time he used that phrase, his face took on a look of utter conviction.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell