Adjudicate

WORD OF THE DAY

adjudicate / verb / uh-JOO-dih-kayt

Definition
1: to make an official decision about who is right in (a dispute)
2: to settle judicially
3: to act as judge

Examples
"The request sought to move the trial to another location or bring an outside jury to adjudicate it."
— Lydia Morrell, The Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Journal Sentinel, 20 June 2022

Massive case backlogs continue to plague U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the immigration court system, crippling the government's ability to adjudicate applications in a timely manner.
— Camilo Montoya-galvez, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2022

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.