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

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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

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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
  • As the team stands on the cusp of NFL history, poised to become the first ever to win three consecutive Super Bowls, Hunt took the opportunity to address the ongoing narrative surrounding referee favoritism — a topic that has been widely discussed throughout the Chiefs' playoff run.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and knocked the ball free, but forward progress was ruled by referee Jeff Triplette, negating the fumble.
    Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Although Kessler is a high-profile litigator, including by leading high-profile antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA, NASCAR, U.S. Soccer, the NFL and other major sports defendants, litigators sometimes negotiate resolutions without having to go to court.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 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
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance estimates that the U.S. Healthcare and Social Assistance industry loses nearly $6.2 billion per year due to serious, nonfatal workplace injuries, 34% of which are due to overexertion of handling objects and awkward postures.
    Borislav "Bobby" Marinov, Forbes, 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 more generous read is that OpenAI, as the poster child of American AI innovation, is trying to establish some rules in what is an unregulated and rapidly expanding industry that few people outside of it understand at a technical level.
    Allison Morrow, CNN, 30 Jan. 2025
  • Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't understand physics.
    Parker Hall, WIRED, 30 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • So Pastrnak briefly thought about turning down the shot and looking to get closer.
    Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 2 Feb. 2025
  • The atmosphere lightens—air is let in; clean, tinny piano introduces itself—as Twigs abandons thinking.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • His crew is set to include Boris Cheek (side judge), Mike Morton (umpire), Max Causey (line judge), Mark Stewart (line judge), Mearl Robinson (field judge), Jonah Moore (back judge) and Kevin Brown (replay official).
    Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Cleveland challenged the play, and umpires found Correa had indeed violated the rule.
    Evan Drellich, The Athletic, 23 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 5 Feb. 2025.

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