Meaning & use
arraigned
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“arraigned” is a form of “arraign”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitivelegal
brought before a court to hear the charges and enter a plea
Grammar: Often passive: someone is arraigned on a charge. Active: the court arraigned him.
Patterns
- be arraigned on a charge
- be arraigned for something
- arraign someone before a court
The suspect was arraigned on Monday and pleaded not guilty.
She will be arraigned in federal court next week.
He was arraigned for fraud after a long investigation.
verbtransitiveformal
to formally accuse or criticize someone in public
Grammar: Used mostly in writing; often followed by 'for' or 'on'.
Patterns
- arraign someone for something
- arraign someone on a charge
The report arraigned the company for ignoring safety rules.
Critics arraigned the mayor for his handling of the crisis.
Word forms
| third person singular | arraigns |
|---|---|
| past tense | arraigned |
| past participle | arraigned |
| -ing form | arraigning |
Common combinations
- arraigned in court
- The two men were arraigned in court yesterday.
- arraigned on charges
- She was arraigned on charges of theft.
- arraigned before a judge
- He was arraigned before a judge early this morning.
- formally arraigned
- The suspect was formally arraigned at the county jail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- charged
- More general and common; it means an official accusation but not necessarily a court appearance.
- indicted
- Used mainly in US law for a formal accusation by a grand jury; stronger and more specific than arraigned.
- accused
- Can be used in everyday language for saying someone did something wrong, without any court process.
Word family
- arraignment noun
- The court hearing where charges are read and a plea is entered.
Commonly confused: arraigned or arranged? arraigned or arrested?
arraigned vs arranged
Sounds similar but means 'put in order' or 'planned'. 'Arraigned' is only about a court charge.
arraigned vs arrested
Means taken into police control; arraignment usually happens after an arrest.
Practice
The defendant was ______ on a charge of robbery and pleaded not guilty.
Choose one answer.
‘Arraigned’ fits because it describes the court appearance where charges are read. ‘Charged’ is close but does not necessarily mean a court appearance; ‘arranged’ is a different word; ‘arrested’ means taken into custody.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arraigned”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.