adjudicate
verb
Did you know?
Adjudicate, which is usually used to mean “to make an official decision about who is right in a dispute,” is one of several terms that give testimony to the influence of jus, the Latin word for “law,” on our legal language. Others include judgment, judicial, prejudice, jury, justice, injury, and perjury. What’s the verdict? Latin “law” words frequently preside in English-speaking courtrooms.
Examples of adjudicate in a Sentence
Time, 10 Feb. 2026
Georgia, almost every single cycle after the Voting Rights Act, had to have its maps adjudicated by a court, and that was true for a lot of southern states.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Courts continue to adjudicate but with growing deference on matters touching the regime’s ideological core.
—Alejandro Reyes, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
The year is 2029 — not very far into the future, yet within its vision of what might lie in store for us in our future, our legal system is turned upside down, in favor of Artificial Intelligence adjudicating the outcome.
—Jan Wagner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for adjudicate
Cite this Entry
“Adjudicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjudicate. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
adjudicate
verb
Legal Definition
adjudicate
verb
Latin adjudicare to award in judgment, from ad to, for + judicare to judge see judge
