acquittal

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /əˈkwɪtəl/ UK /əˈkwɪt(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a judgment that a person is not guilty of the charge

Her acquittal came after only an hour of deliberation.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a judgment that a person is... absolution exoneration exculpation vindication discharge clearance

Opposites

conviction condemnation

Word family

Related forms acquit acquittance

Etymology

From acquit + -al, from Old French aquiter ('to release, set free'), ultimately from Latin ad- ('to') + quietus ('at rest, free').

aquiter Old French quietus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# acquittal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈkwɪtəl/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈkwɪt(ə)l/

## Meanings
1. a judgment that a person is not guilty of the charge

## Examples
- Her acquittal came after only an hour of deliberation.

## Synonyms
- absolution
- exoneration
- exculpation
- vindication
- discharge
- clearance

## Antonyms
- conviction
- condemnation

## Related Forms
- acquit
- acquittance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: aquiter
- Root: quietus

## Etymology
From acquit + -al, from Old French aquiter ('to release, set free'), ultimately from Latin ad- ('to') + quietus ('at rest, free').

## AI Etymology
Acquittal is from acquit + -al, from Old French aquiter ('to release, set free'), ultimately from Latin ad- ('to') + quietus ('at rest, free'). Important recorded forms include aquiter (Old French) and quietus (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a judgment that a person is not guilty of the charge. The wider family includes related words such as acquit and acquittance.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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