judgment Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an opinion formed by judging something
    judgement; mind.
    • he was reluctant to make his judgment known
    • she changed her mind
  2. noun the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or event
    judgement; assessment.
    • they criticized my judgment of the contestants
  3. noun (law) the determination by a court of competent jurisdiction on matters submitted to it
    judgement; judicial decision.
  4. noun the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions
    judgement; judging.
  5. noun the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision
    judgement; opinion; legal opinion.
    • opinions are usually written by a single judge
  6. noun the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions
    judgement; perspicacity; sound judgment; sound judgement.
  7. noun the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
    judgement; sagacity; sagaciousness; discernment.

WordNet

Judg"ment noun
Etymology
OE. jugement, F. jugement, LL. judicamentum, fr. L. judicare. See Judge, v. i.
Definitions
  1. The act of judging; the operation of the mind, involving comparison and discrimination, by which a knowledge of the values and relations of thins, whether of moral qualities, intellectual concepts, logical propositions, or material facts, is obtained; as, by careful judgment he avoided the peril; by a series of wrong judgments he forfeited confidence.
    I oughte deme, of skilful jugement, That in the salte sea my wife is deed. Chaucer.
  2. The power or faculty of performing such operations (see 1); esp., when unqualified, the faculty of judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely; good sense; as, a man of judgment; a politician without judgment.
    He shall judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgment. Ps. lxxii. 2.
    Hernia. I would my father look'd but with my eyes. Theseus. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look. Shak.
  3. The conclusion or result of judging; an opinion; a decision.
    She in my judgment was as fair as you. Shak.
    Who first his judgment asked, and then a place. Pope.
  4. The act of determining, as in courts of law, what is conformable to law and justice; also, the determination, decision, or sentence of a court, or of a judge; the mandate or sentence of God as the judge of all.
    In judgments between rich and poor, consider not what the poor man needs, but what is his own. Jer. Taylor.
    Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment. Shak.
  5. (Philos.) (a) That act of the mind by which two notions or ideas which are apprehended as distinct are compared for the purpose of ascertaining their agreement or disagreement. See 1. The comparison may be threefold: (1) Of individual objects forming a concept. (2) Of concepts giving what is technically called a judgment. (3) Of two judgments giving an inference. Judgments have been further classed as analytic, synthetic, and identical. (b) That power or faculty by which knowledge dependent upon comparison and discrimination is acquired. See 2.
    A judgment is the mental act by which one thing is affirmed or denied of another. Sir W. Hamilton.
    The power by which we are enabled to perceive what is true or false, probable or improbable, is called by logicians the faculty of judgment. Stewart.
  6. A calamity regarded as sent by God, by way of recompense for wrong committed; a providential punishment. "Judgments are prepared for scorners." Prov. xix. 29. "This judgment of the heavens that makes us tremble." Shak.
  7. (Theol.) The final award; the last sentence. ✍ Judgment, abridgment, acknowledgment, and lodgment are in England sometimes written, judgement, abridgement, acknowledgement, and lodgement. ✍ Judgment is used adjectively in many self-explaining combinations; as, judgment hour; judgment throne. Syn. -- Discernment; decision; determination; award; estimate; criticism; taste; discrimination; penetration; sagacity; intelligence; understanding. See Taste.

Webster 1913