judiciary

Meanings

1. The branch of government made up of judges and courts that interprets laws and settles legal disputes.
2. The judges of a country, taken together.

Example sentences

• "The judiciary must be free from political pressure."

  Level B2, Meaning 1

• "She is a member of the judiciary."

  Level B2, Meaning 2

• "Reform of the judiciary was a key demand of the protesters."

  Level C1, Meaning 1

• "An independent judiciary protects the rights of citizens."

  Level B2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• judicial : Judicial is the adjective, as in a judicial decision. Judiciary is the noun for the body of judges and courts.
• judicious : Judicious means showing good sense and sound judgment. It looks like judicial but means something else.
• legislature : The legislature makes laws. The judiciary applies them in cases.
• executive : The executive carries out the law. The judiciary decides what it means in a dispute.

Word family and forms

Forms: judiciaries

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "judiciary".

• an independent judiciary
• the federal judiciary
• a member of the judiciary
• judiciary committee
• reform of the judiciary
• the judiciary and the legislature

Origin

Judiciary was first used in English in the late 1500s as an adjective meaning of the law courts. It comes from the Latin word judiciarius, built from judicium, meaning judgment, plus an adjective ending. The noun use for the branch of government came later.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

"Judiciary" usually takes "the" and refers to the whole court system, not a single judge.

How to remember it

Judiciary begins with judge. The judiciary is the body of judges and the courts they sit in.

Test yourself

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