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
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, Earle tackled a challenging routine that impressed the judges.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
While the results were impressive, the fact that Nutrafol even went to the trouble of creating such a rigorous study around its supplement was enough to make our dermatologist judges suspend their usual skepticism around the ingestibles category.
—Megan McIntyre, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Magistrate judges have authority to issue warrants and conduct most preliminary proceedings — such as initial appearances, arraignments and guilty pleas — in criminal cases.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
For much of the hour-long hearing, Judges Kevin Emas, Monica Gordo and Fleur Lobree pushed back against the city.
—Miami Herald, 31 July 2025
The appeals court panel included two former President Joe Biden appointees, Judges Gustavo Gelpi and Lara Montecalvo, and one former President Barack Obama appointee, Judge William Kayatta.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 29 July 2025
This week, Alina Habba, who was among Trump’s most notoriously combative criminal defense lawyers, is a likely casualty: Judges in New Jersey are nearly certain to nix any extension of her expiring interim term as the district’s U.S. attorney.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 21 July 2025
On Friday, the 2-1 ruling -- issued by Circuit Judges Jonathan Kobes of Sioux Falls, S.D., and David Stras of Minneapolis, with Circuit Judge Steven Grasz of Omaha, Neb., dissenting -- affirmed Lung'aho's sentence.
—Arkansas Online, 21 July 2025
Stephanie Wenger, PEOPLE, 17 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
As the performance came to its colorful conclusion, judges Simon Cowell and Spice Girl Mel B were immediately on the feet.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 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
Keep reading for the Dancing With the Stars premiere scores, what the judges thought about each dance and if any of your favorites were eliminated in Week 1.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, Earle tackled a challenging routine that impressed the judges.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
While the results were impressive, the fact that Nutrafol even went to the trouble of creating such a rigorous study around its supplement was enough to make our dermatologist judges suspend their usual skepticism around the ingestibles category.
—Megan McIntyre, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Magistrate judges have authority to issue warrants and conduct most preliminary proceedings — such as initial appearances, arraignments and guilty pleas — in criminal cases.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
For much of the hour-long hearing, Judges Kevin Emas, Monica Gordo and Fleur Lobree pushed back against the city.
—Miami Herald, 31 July 2025
The appeals court panel included two former President Joe Biden appointees, Judges Gustavo Gelpi and Lara Montecalvo, and one former President Barack Obama appointee, Judge William Kayatta.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 29 July 2025
This week, Alina Habba, who was among Trump’s most notoriously combative criminal defense lawyers, is a likely casualty: Judges in New Jersey are nearly certain to nix any extension of her expiring interim term as the district’s U.S. attorney.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 21 July 2025
On Friday, the 2-1 ruling -- issued by Circuit Judges Jonathan Kobes of Sioux Falls, S.D., and David Stras of Minneapolis, with Circuit Judge Steven Grasz of Omaha, Neb., dissenting -- affirmed Lung'aho's sentence.
—Arkansas Online, 21 July 2025
Verb
With Carrie Ann Inaba being on under the weather, judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli were left to their own devices — leading to some unexpected and hilarious moments.
—Stephanie Wenger, PEOPLE, 17 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
As the performance came to its colorful conclusion, judges Simon Cowell and Spice Girl Mel B were immediately on the feet.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 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
-
Peer review is often taken to be the gold standard for science, where if a scientific paper can pass peer review, that means it’s been reviewed by editors and referees to be correct, and that others vouch for it.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Former Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce said the criticism of the tush push is going to put the famed play under the microscope of referees moving forward.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Torrance began using Rec for booking tennis and pickleball courts early last year before transitioning to Rec for all of the city’s activities.—
Tim Casey,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Independent redistricting commissions and courts have been shown to produce more competitive districts than legislatures do.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But Harold gets on famously with Duke William, at least until the Norman warlord decides to assert his claim to the English throne.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
When her studio head boss asks her to fire her head writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) to appease a toxic male movie star, Vance decides to walk away, and does it in on air.—
Megan Thomas,
CNN Money,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Marketplace Pulse estimates Amazon had 21 times the number of sellers that Walmart had at the end of 2024.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Paige Tortorelli,
CNBC,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Paudel's team estimates dE01+09 entered the group several billion years ago as a young, star-forming galaxy.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Perhaps the importance of the Ali-Frazier match derives from the extremity of those blood-sport contradictions.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Before there was Latin trap, Puerto Rico was transfixed by reggaetón, a swaggering style based on a loping, staccato beat known as dembow, which derives from dancehall reggae.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Liz Thomas, head of investment strategy at online bank and finance platform SoFi, thinks the Fed might be playing with fire.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Instead of leading with questions about salary or credit scores, start by paying attention to how someone thinks about money.—
Essence,
Essence,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
After the top of the first inning, several Yankees batters congregated on the third base line with manager Aaron Boone and the umpires.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Major League Baseball Rule 21 prohibits anyone connected to the game-including players, umpires, and staff-from gambling on any baseball or softball game, regardless of the level.—
Bernie Pleskoff,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The integrity of our system of justice and the judicial system is based on the trust that people place in the jurists that populate that branch, the third branch of government.—
John E. Jones III,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The rare move highlighted the administration's combative stance toward jurists who impeded its immigration policies.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Judges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/judges. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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