judgment

/ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/

/ˈdʒʌdʒmɛnt/

Other forms: judgments

Judgment is the mental ability to understand something, form an opinion and reach a decision. You have great judgment of character, which is why your friends ask you to meet their significant others when things get serious.

A decision is a judgment, unless you let a coin toss decide for you. Use your judgment to determine how much salt to add, or the safest way home. In court, the judge's official decision is called the judgment, and if you condemn someone, even if you're not a judge, we say you've "passed judgment." If you need to explain many parts of the story before your innocence will be clear, ask your listener not to rush to judgment.

Definitions of judgment

1. noun

   the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or event
   “they criticized my judgment of the contestants”

   synonyms: assessment, judgement

   types:

   justice

   judgment involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments

   adjudication

   the final judgment in a legal proceeding; the act of pronouncing judgment based on the evidence presented

   disapproval

   the act of disapproving or condemning

   evaluation, rating

   act of ascertaining or fixing the value or worth of

   estimate, estimation

   a judgment of the qualities of something or somebody

   logistic assessment

   a judgment of the logistic support required for some particular military operation

   value judgement, value judgment

   an assessment that reveals more about the values of the person making the assessment than about the reality of what is assessed

   administration, judicature

   the act of meting out justice according to the law

   grading, marking, scoring

   evaluation of performance by assigning a grade or score

   appraisal

   an expert estimation of the quality, quantity, and other characteristics of someone or something

   moralism

   judgments about another person's morality

   capitalisation, capitalization

   an estimation of the value of a business

   disparagement, dispraise

   the act of speaking contemptuously of

   condemnation

   (law) the act of condemning (as land forfeited for public use) or judging to be unfit for use (as a food product or an unsafe building)

   branding, stigmatisation, stigmatization

   the act of stigmatizing

   type of:

   act, deed, human action, human activity

   something that people do or cause to happen
2. noun

   the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions
   synonyms: judgement, judging

   types:

   prejudgement, prejudgment

   a judgment reached before the evidence is available

   type of:

   deciding, decision making

   the cognitive process of reaching a decision
3. noun

   the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
   synonyms: discernment, judgement, sagaciousness, sagacity

   types:

   eye

   good discernment (either visually or as if visually)

   common sense, good sense, gumption, horse sense, mother wit, sense

   sound practical judgment

   judiciousness

   good judgment

   circumspection, discreetness, discretion, prudence

   knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress

   indiscreetness, injudiciousness

   lacking good judgment

   logic

   reasoned and reasonable judgment

   nous

   common sense

   road sense

   good judgment in avoiding trouble or accidents on the road

   confidentiality

   discretion in keeping secret information

   care, caution, forethought, precaution

   judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger

   type of:

   sapience, wisdom

   ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight
4. noun

   the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions
   synonyms: judgement, perspicacity, sound judgement, sound judgment

   types:

   objectiveness, objectivity

   judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices

   subjectiveness, subjectivity

   judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts

   type of:

   trait

   a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
5. noun

   an opinion formed by judging something
   “he was reluctant to make his judgment known”

   synonyms: judgement, mind

   types:

   conclusion, decision, determination, verdict

   a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration

   predetermination

   a mental determination or resolve in advance; an antecedent intention to do something

   type of:

   opinion, persuasion, reckoning, sentiment, thought, view

   a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
6. noun

   (law) the determination by a court of competent jurisdiction on matters submitted to it
   synonyms: judgement, judicial decision

   types:

   reversal

   a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was incorrect and should be set aside

   affirmation

   a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was correct and should stand

   cognovit judgement, cognovit judgment, confession of judgement, confession of judgment

   a judgment entered after a written confession by the debtor without the expense of ordinary legal proceedings

   default judgement, default judgment, judgement by default, judgment by default

   a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff when the defendant defaults (fails to appear in court)

   non pros, non prosequitur

   a judgment entered in favor of the defendant when the plaintiff has not continued his action (e.g., has not appeared in court)

   final decision, final judgment

   a judgment disposing of the case before the court; after the judgment (or an appeal from it) is rendered all that remains is to enforce the judgment

   judgement in personam, judgment in personam, personal judgement, personal judgment

   a judgment rendered against an individual (or corporation) for the payment of money damages

   judgement in rem, judgment in rem

   a judgment pronounced on the status of some particular subject or property or thing (as opposed to one pronounced on persons)

   dismissal, judgement of dismissal, judgment of dismissal

   a judgment disposing of the matter without a trial

   judgement on the merits, judgment on the merits

   judgment rendered through analysis and adjudication of the factual issues presented

   judgement on the pleadings, judgment on the pleadings, summary judgement, summary judgment

   a judgment rendered by the court prior to a verdict because no material issue of fact exists and one party or the other is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law

   arbitrament, arbitration, arbitrement

   the act of deciding as an arbiter; giving authoritative judgment

   opinion, ruling

   the reason for a court's judgment (as opposed to the decision itself)

   finding

   the decision of a court on issues of fact or law

   condemnation, conviction, judgment of conviction, sentence

   (criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed

   fatwa

   a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority

   finding of fact, verdict

   (law) the findings of a jury on issues of fact submitted to it for decision; can be used in formulating a judgment

   conclusion of law, finding of law

   a finding as to the applicability of a rule of law to particular facts

   acquittal

   a judgment of not guilty

   type of:

   due process, due process of law

   (law) the administration of justice according to established rules and principles; based on the principle that a person cannot be deprived of life or liberty or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards
7. noun

   the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision
   synonyms: judgement, legal opinion, opinion

   types:

   concurring opinion

   an opinion that agrees with the court's disposition of the case but is written to express a particular judge's reasoning

   dissenting opinion

   an opinion that disagrees with the court's disposition of the case

   majority opinion

   the opinion joined by a majority of the court (generally known simply as `the opinion')

   fatwah

   (Islam) a legal opinion or ruling issued by an Islamic scholar

   dictum, obiter dictum

   an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding

   type of:

   instrument, legal document, legal instrument, official document

   (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right