Indictment
A formal charge or accusation that a person has committed a crime, typically issued by a prosecutor or grand jury and used to begin a criminal case.
nounIndictment
A formal charge or accusation that a person has committed a crime, typically issued by a prosecutor or grand jury and used to begin a criminal case.
nounImagine This
Imagine a courtroom where a prosecutor unfurls a parchment labeled 'Indictment' listing specific charges, such as fraud or embezzlement; this document signals the start of a trial, not a verdict.
Sounds Like
in-DYET-ment (IPA: ษชnหdaษชt.mษnt)
Looks Like
Looks like indict + ment; contains the root 'dict' (to say) and the suffix -ment indicating the action or process.
Remember This
An indictment is a formal accusation, not a finding of guilt. In the U.S., many felonies require a grand jury indictment, while some cases proceed by an information issued by a prosecutor.
Other Forms
Connect With
charge, accusation, prosecution, grand jury, information, arraignment, verdict, acquittal
Note
Do not confuse indictment with conviction. Also note the adjective 'indictable' describes offenses that can be indicted; the indictment follows investigation, not a guilty verdict.
Study Deeper
- The grand jury returned an indictment charging the former official with fraud.
- After months of investigation, prosecutors obtained an indictment for bribery.
From Old French enditement (via Latin indictimentum), from indictare 'to declare formally', from dicere 'to say'.
IN-DICT-MENT: The 'dict' root means to say. An indictment is the act in which the government says (dict) formal charges against someone, written in a document.
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Acronym
nounA word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, pronounced as a single word and used as a shorthand for the full name (for example, NASA or radar).