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indictment

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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18th-century Latinized respelling of Middle English endytement (“action of accusing”), from Anglo-Norman enditement, from enditer, from Late Latin indictāre, from Latin indictus.

Pronunciation

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  • (US) IPA(key): /ɪnˈdaɪt.mənt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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indictment (countable and uncountable, plural indictments)

  1. (law) An official formal accusation for a criminal offence, or the process by which it is brought to a jury. [from 14th c.]
    • 2025 September 27, “Inside the Trump Administration’s Push to Prosecute James Comey”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      But she accomplished the third task — the one that mattered most to her boss — securing a criminal indictment against Mr. Comey, the former F.B.I. director.
      (Can we archive this URL?)
  2. (law) The official legal document outlining the charges concerned; bill of indictment. [from 16th c.]
    • 2023 March 30, William K. Rashbaum, “This is what will happen when Trump is arrested in the coming days.”, in The New York Times‎[2], →ISSN:
      […] — the indictment will remain sealed until his expected arraignment on Tuesday, when the charges will be formally revealed.
  3. (countable, uncountable) An accusation of wrongdoing; a criticism or condemnation. [from 19th c.]
    • 1910, Emma Goldman, “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty”, in Anarchism and Other Essays‎[3]:
      Can there be a greater indictment against patriotism than that it will thus brand a man a criminal, throw him into prison, and rob him of the results of fifteen years of faithful service?
    • 1980 March 10, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “The Economy Drive”, in Yes, Minister, season 1, episode 3, spoken by Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington):
      I must say Humphrey, these facts are a frightening indictment of bureaucratic sloppiness and self-indulgence.
    • 2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 42:
      I have been critical of the RDG in the past for merely being a cypher for government announcements, but the failure of its members to make a stand on this issue and not be complicit in the Government's subterfuge is a shocking indictment of their failure to protect the industry.
  4. Evidence of failure or poor performance.
    an indictment of his ability to lead
    an indictment of his game

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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