adjudicate

/əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt/

//əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adjudicate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adjudicate” is uncommon English (frequency #54,599 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,599
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To decide, rule on, or settle as a judge.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adjudicate · adjudicate · English

adjudicate · rank #54,599 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,599
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH adenocarcinoma

Nearest frequency peer: adenocarcinoma (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “adjudicate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “adjudicate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for adjudicate
PropertyValue
Headwordadjudicate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#54,599
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “adjudicate” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).adjudicatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “adenocarcinoma” (#54,598), “adornment” (#54,600), “Adamawa” (#54,596). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adjudicate” is #54,599. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

adjudicate is uncommon English at frequency #54,599 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

adjudicate has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin adiūdicō, adiūdicātus, from ad + iūdicō (“to judge”). Doublet of adjudge. The correct English form is adjudicate, spelled A-D-J-U-D-I-C-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To decide, rule on, or settle as a judge.
  2. 2
    To act as a judge.
  3. 3
    To seize or convey as security.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adjudicate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. From the twelfth century Shetland had been administered directly by the Norwegian crown through the 'foud', rather than forming part of the patrimony of a great aristocratic estate. The foud appointed 'underfouds' and the Shetlands evolved their own elected officers, a 'lawman' and parish 'lawrightmen', who adjudicated and negotiated the collection of cus…
  2. The general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, who enforces federal labor law by prosecuting violations, said her office would soon file a brief in a case before the labor board, which adjudicates such questions, asking the board to reverse its precedent on the meetings.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin adiūdicō, adiūdicātus, from ad + iūdicō (“to judge”). Doublet of adjudge.

Synonyms

adjudgeadjudicatearbitratedeemdoomhearjudgerule onsettletry

This word in other languages

adjudicar(Español)juger(Français)urteilen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adjudicate"?
"adjudicate" is spelled A-D-J-U-D-I-C-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt/.
What does "adjudicate" mean?
As a verb, "adjudicate" means: To decide, rule on, or settle as a judge.
How do you pronounce "adjudicate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adjudicate" is /əˈd͡ʒuː.dɪ.keɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adjudicate"?
Borrowed from Latin adiūdicō, adiūdicātus, from ad + iūdicō (“to judge”). Doublet of adjudge. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adjudicate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

acclimated#54,593amplitudes#54,611Waziristan#54,563waterborne#54,562

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list