indictment
/ɪnˈdaɪt.mənt/ noun
Forms indictments endictment
- noun (law) An official formal accusation for a criminal offence, or the process by which it is brought to a jury.
- noun (law) The official legal document outlining the charges concerned; bill of indictment.
- noun (countable, uncountable) An accusation of wrongdoing; a criticism or condemnation.
- noun Evidence of failure or poor performance. “an indictment of his ability to lead”
Synonyms
Etymology
18th-century Latinized respelling of Middle English endytement (“action of accusing”), from Anglo-Norman enditement, from enditer, from Late Latin indictāre, from Latin indictus.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of indicting, or the state of being indicted.
- noun The formal statement of an offense, as framed by the prosecuting authority of the State, and found by the grand jury.
Etymology [Cf. Inditement.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “indictment”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details