# acquitted

/əˈkwɪtɪd/ (US) · /ɐkwˈɪtɪd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/acquitted
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. found not guilty

adjective · CEFR B2 · Formal

having been found not guilty of a crime in a court of law.

For teachers: having been formally cleared of a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty. The term is non-gradable.

- The acquitted man walked out of the courthouse as a free person.
- The acquitted defendant declined to comment to the press, choosing instead to return home immediately after the jury delivered its verdict.

Usage: Usually functions as a predicative adjective after a linking verb like 'be' or 'stand', though it can appear before a noun.

### 2. past action of clearing charges

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal

the past tense of 'acquit', meaning a court officially said you did not commit a crime.

For teachers: the past tense and past participle of the transitive verb 'acquit', meaning to free someone from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty.

- The jury acquitted her of all charges after only two hours of talking.
- Although the prosecution presented several witnesses, the jury acquitted the suspect due to a lack of physical evidence linking him to the scene.

Usage: Takes a direct object (the person) followed by the preposition 'of' (the crime).

## Examples

- The jury acquitted him of all charges.
- After a long trial, the judge acquitted the defendant because there was not enough evidence.
- Although the public remained convinced of his guilt, the legal system acquitted him due to a technical error in how the evidence was collected.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.