verdict
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the official decision made by a jury at the end of a trial to say if someone is guilty or not.
the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to them during a trial.
Simple“The jury took three days to reach a verdict of not guilty.”
In context“After deliberating for nearly forty-eight hours, the jury returned a unanimous verdict, bringing the high-profile murder trial to a dramatic conclusion.”
UsageCommonly used with the verbs 'reach', 'return', or 'deliver'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
your final opinion or decision about something after you have tried it or thought about it.
a subjective but definitive judgement or opinion expressed after a period of consideration or testing.
Simple“What is your verdict on the new restaurant in town?”
In context“The critics' final verdict on the film was surprisingly harsh, despite the director's previous successes in the same genre.”
Teacher's tipWhile this sense is formal, it is frequently used in a slightly playful or dramatic way in everyday conversation when asking for an opinion.
Synonyms
“The jury returned a 10-2 majority guilty verdict.”
“During the trial her defence argued the baby may have already been dead before the burn injuries, but a jury took just over an hour to return the guilty verdict.”
From Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman verdit (> Medieval Latin veredictum), from veir (“true”) + dit (“saying”); possibly a calque of a Germanic term such as Old English sōþword, sōþsprǣċ, sōþspell, sōþsagu, or sōþcwide, all meaning "true story, statement of truth, account, history". Doublet of veredictum.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.