noun
1 decision in a court of law about whether sb is guilty
ADJECTIVE
▪ adverse , favourable/favorable
▪
In the case of an adverse ~, the company could lose millions.
▪ guilty , not guilty , not proven ( BrE )
▪ majority ( esp. BrE ), unanimous
▪
a unanimous ~ of not guilty
▪ split ( esp. AmE )
▪ formal
▪
The jury returned a formal ~ after direction by the judge.
▪ narrative ( BrE )
▪ jury , trial
▪ appeal , inquest ( BrE )
▪ manslaughter ( esp. BrE ), murder
▪ accident , accidental death , misadventure , suicide (all BrE )
▪ open ( BrE )
▪
An open ~ was the only appropriate one.
VERB + VERDICT
▪ consider
▪
The judge sent the jury away to consider its ~.
▪ agree , agree on , arrive at , reach
▪
They reached a ~ after hours of deliberation.
▪ announce , bring in , deliver , give , hand down , issue , pass , pronounce , read , read out , record ( esp. BrE ), render ( esp. AmE ), return
▪
The ~ was delivered in front of a packed courtroom.
▪
The coroner recorded a ~ of accidental death.
▪
The jury returned a ~ of guilty at the end of the trial.
▪ accept
▪ appeal ( AmE ), appeal against ( esp. BrE )
▪ overturn , quash ( esp. BrE ), reverse , set aside , throw out ( esp. AmE )
▪
His family always insisted that the original ‘guilty’ ~ should be overturned.
▪ uphold
▪
The ~ was upheld at appeal.
VERDICT + VERB
▪ be in sb's favour/favor
▪ be in , come down , come in (all esp. AmE )
▪
The ~ came in this afternoon.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
▪
a ~ of accidental death
▪ ~ against , ~ in favour/favor of
▪
We believe that the ~ against him was unfair.
PHRASES
▪ the court's ~ , the judge's ~ , the jury's ~
▪
The jury's ~ was unanimous.
2 decision/opinion
ADJECTIVE
▪ final
▪
The panel will give its final ~ tomorrow.
▪ general , overall ( esp. BrE ), unanimous
▪
The unanimous ~ was that the picnic had been a great success.
▪ damning ( esp. BrE )
VERB + VERDICT
▪ give
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ on
▪
What's your ~ on her new book?