Meaning & use
acquittal
Last updated
UK/əˈkwɪt.əl/
US/əˈkwɪt.əl/
Meaning
nouncountablelegal
A formal judgment that a person accused of a crime is not guilty.
Grammar: Countable; often after be or result in: resulted in acquittal; plural acquittals.
Patterns
- an acquittal on charges
- lead to acquittal
- order an acquittal
The verdict resulted in acquittal on all counts.
The family accepted the acquittal but still wanted answers.
Word forms
| plural | acquittals |
|---|
Common combinations
- acquittal on all charges
- The court announced an acquittal on all charges.
- result in acquittal
- Missing evidence could result in acquittal.
- overturn an acquittal
- An appeal cannot easily overturn an acquittal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exoneration
- Exoneration clears blame generally; acquittal is a criminal court outcome.
- clearance
- Clearance is informal or administrative; acquittal is the precise legal term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: acquittal or acquisition?
acquittal vs acquisition
Acquisition is gaining something; acquittal is a not-guilty judgment.
Practice
What is an acquittal?
Choose one answer.
Acquittal is the legal result when a defendant is found not guilty. The other options describe acquisition or unrelated ideas.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “acquittal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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