judge 1 of 2

1
as in referee
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 court
a public official having authority to decide questions of law the judge gave the defendant a suspended sentence

Synonyms & Similar Words

judge

2 of 2

verb

1
2
as in to estimate
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
4

Synonym Chooser

How is the word judge distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of judge are conclude, deduce, gather, and infer. While all these words mean "to arrive at a mental conclusion," judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

judge people by their actions

When could conclude be used to replace judge?

The words conclude and judge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

concluded that only the accused could be guilty

How do deduce and infer relate to one another, in the sense of judge?

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

When is it sensible to use gather instead of judge?

In some situations, the words gather and judge are roughly equivalent. However, gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

gathered their desire to be alone without a word

When can infer be used instead of judge?

While the synonyms infer and judge are close in meaning, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of judge
Noun
By the administration’s count, Lamont gave 98 of the 179 judges their jobs. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 25 Jan. 2025 The public defender’s office put the issue in front of a judge, arguing the county was now detaining its clients in violation of state law. Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2025
Verb
In a letter written to judge Lewis J. Liman and obtained by E! Bethy Squires, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2025 God and history will judge us harshly for what is about to happen in our name. Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for judge 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for judge
Noun
  • Following the Chiefs’ 23-14 win Saturday over the Houston Texans, referee Clay Martin spoke with a pool reporter about two roughing penalties on hits to quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Fighters like Dominick Cruz seemingly hate referee intervention and would prefer to be put to sleep with a strike than to have a fight stopped.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • According to court documents, Healy was eating with friends on Sept. 29, 1990 when he was approached by two men, one of whom pulled a gun and told them all to get up.
    Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2025
  • According to People, Emily and Justin Baldoni have been spending time in Hawaii with their two children as his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, continues to face off against Lively's legal team in and outside of court.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 25 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The top eight advanced direct to the last 16, while those clubs from ninth to 24th will contest a playoff to decide which eight teams join them.
    Greg O'Keeffe, The Athletic, 30 Jan. 2025
  • Senate Bill 4 would allow voters to decide whether to keep fluoride in drinking water.
    Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But on Saturday, Likee drew 143 percent more downloads and 37 percent more usage in the US than the previous day, according to Sensor Tower, which estimates figures by gathering data from a sample of devices.
    Paresh Dave, WIRED, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Club officials estimate up to 5,000 could have been sold if the ground was big enough, such was the demand as fans from near and far clamoured to witness a slice of history.
    Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The past week has proven a surreal one for TikTok's users and creators, many of whom are struggling to understand how this proved to be the one issue that could unite Democrats and Republicans.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Still, Republicans have said that even if that call was accurate, the C.I.A. failed in understanding other key events: how quickly the Afghan government could collapse, how Bashar al-Assad would flee Syria and how Hamas was preparing to attack Israel.
    Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • And does the new Bears coach think Poles can fix the gaps in free agency and the draft? Johnson will have much to share about his plans in the days ahead.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
  • North Korean troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine thought the war was a military exercise, according to videos released by Ukraine.
    Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • During live gameplay, however, the players — and the general contours and colors of their outfits — are animated in a Nintendo Wii-esque style, as are the court, racquets, balls, umpires, ball people and spectators.
    Rachel Treisman, NPR, 17 Jan. 2025
  • In the closing shot, he’s seen in the near-empty upper deck, enthusiastically challenging an umpire’s call.
    Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Wiretapped conversations on those phones led prosecutors to suspect Sarkozy and Herzog of promising magistrate Gilbert Azibert a job in Monaco in exchange for leaking information about another legal case involving Sarkozy.
    Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Both properties were the subject of an eviction ruling on Nov. 6 in Hamilton County where a magistrate gave Frisch’s seven days to leave.
    Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 10 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near judge

Cite this Entry

“Judge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/judge. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on judge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!