noun
or judge·ment ˈjəjmənt
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English juggement, from Old French jugement, from jugier to judge + -ment — more at judge
1.
a. : a formal utterance or pronouncing of an authoritative opinion after judging
b. : an opinion so pronounced ; especially : an adverse opinion : censure , criticism
2.
a.
(1) : a formal decision or determination given in a cause by a court of law or other tribunal : court order , sentence — compare decree 3b(1), summary judgment
(2) Britain : a record or statement of the reasons for a specific judicial decision — compare opinion
b.
(1) : an obligation (as a debt) created by decree of a court
collection of … automobile judgments from uninsured motorists — Harvard Law Review
— compare estoppel , quasi contract
(2) : an official certificate evidencing such a decision or decree
c. archaic : a definitive or authoritative decision usually pronounced formally as if in a court of justice
3.
a. obsolete : the action of trying a person or a cause in or as if in a court of justice : trial
b. usually capitalized
(1) : the final judging of mankind by God in which reward or punishment is meted out to each individual according to his deserts — usually used with the
the expected letting loose of … anger at the Judgment — C.A.Scott
the dead … biding Judgment, in its fold have slept — Walter de la Mare
(2) : judgment day 1a
4.
a. : a divine sentence or decision ; specifically : a calamity held to be sent by God as a punishment for wrong committed or as a symbol of divine displeasure
b. : a divine decree : a law divinely given
hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day — Deut 5:1 (Authorized Version)
5. obsolete : justice , righteousness
for I the Lord love judgment , I hate robbery — Isa 61:8 (Authorized Version)
6.
a. : the action of judging : the mental or intellectual process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing
the author has sought to exercise some rigor of judgement — Ernest Barker
b. : an opinion or estimate so formed
an economist should form an independent judgment on currency questions — Bertrand Russell
c. obsolete : a religious belief or opinion of a sectarian nature : persuasion
those of the Presbyterian judgment — Oliver Cromwell
7.
a. : the capacity for judging : the power or ability to decide on the basis of evidence
judgment is the highest of the human faculties — E.L.Godkin
some of the sharpest men in argument are notoriously unsound in judgment — O.W.Holmes †1894
a steadying and composing effect upon their judgment — Matthew Arnold
b.
(1) : the exercise of the capacity to judge
in cases where poor judgment was displayed — Harold Koontz & Cyril O'Donnell
sound professional judgment — Journal of Accountancy
(2) : the wise or just exercise of this capacity : discernment , discretion — used without qualifier
he was not a man of judgment and he allowed personal feeling to influence his action — Hilaire Belloc
displays … tact, clarity, and judgment — Saturday Review
8. obsolete : one possessing good judgment : judge II f
he's one o' th' soundest judgments in Troy … and a proper man — Shakespeare
9. logic
a. : the action of mentally establishing a relation between two or more terms ; especially : the affirmation or denial of a predicate with respect to a subject — compare apprehension
b. : a formal expression embodying such a logical conclusion ; especially : a proposition viewed as a statement of something believed or asserted
10. philosophy : the capacity, power, or faculty of judging: as
a. Scholasticism : the capacity to arrive at a decision about the value of things
b. Kantianism
(1) : the power of relating particular to general terms or concepts — see determinative judgment , reflective judgment
(2) : a capacity mediating between reason and the understanding ; broadly : the critical faculty
Synonyms: see sense
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- judgment not withstanding the verdict