Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb Law To find not guilty of a criminal offense.
- transitive verb To conduct (oneself) in a specified manner.
- transitive verb Archaic To release or discharge from an obligation, such as a debt.
- transitive verb Obsolete To repay.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Past participle of acquit.
- To release or discharge, as from an obligation, accusation, guilt, censure, suspicion, or whatever is laid against or upon a person as a charge or duty; specifically, in law, to pronounce not guilty: as, we acquit a man of evil intentions; the jury acquitted the prisoner.
- To atone for.
- To settle, as a debt; requite; pay; discharge; fulfil.
- With a reflexive pronoun: To clear one's self.
- To behave; bear or conduct one's self: as, the soldier acquitted himself well in battle; the orator acquitted himself indifferently.
- . To release; set free; rescue.
- Synonyms To exonerate, exculpate, discharge, set free. See
absolve . - To behave, act, bear, conduct, demean, deport, or quit (one's self).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- past participle Archaic Acquitted; set free; rid of.
- transitive verb To discharge, as a claim or debt; to clear off; to pay off; to requite.
- transitive verb obsolete To pay for; to atone for.
- transitive verb To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, duty, liability, burden, or from an accusation or charge; -- now followed by
of before the charge, formerly byfrom - transitive verb To clear one's self.
- transitive verb To bear or conduct one's self; to perform one's part
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To declare or find
not guilty ;innocent . - verb followed by “of” To
set free ,release ordischarge from anobligation ,duty ,liability ,burden , or from anaccusation orcharge . - verb obsolete, rare To
pay for; toatone for - verb To
discharge , as aclaim ordebt ; toclear off ; topay off ; torequite , tofulfill . - verb reflexive To clear one’s self.
- verb reflexive To
bear orconduct one’s self; toperform one’s part. - verb obsolete To release, set free,
rescue . - verb archaic Past participle of acquit, set free, rid of.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
- verb behave in a certain manner
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Don’t get me wrong, I think judges are too slow to use their power in this regard, but it should be that the universe of cases where a reasonable jury will acquit is much, much larger than cases where a judge acting property will grant a motion for judgment of acquittal.
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Potsdam, instead of contenting yourself with the general glitter of the collective corps, and saying, 'par maniere d'acquit', that is very fine,
Complete Project Gutenberg Earl of Chesterfield Works Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733
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Potsdam, instead of contenting yourself with the general glitter of the collective corps, and saying, 'par maniere d'acquit', that is very fine,
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman, 1749 Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733
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They did, then came back with a mixed verdict form: 8 charges marked "acquit," and the rest left blank.
WBIR.com - News 2009
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Woods isn't used to facing hard questions and probably wouldn't "acquit" himself well under fire, he said.
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Yet believing that real life will not acquit, he itches for a sentence.
Alford's Plea Dennis Mahagin 2011
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But that changed when the local Supreme Court overturned a Seoul High Court decision to acquit Lone Star on charges of market manipulation and sent it back to the High Court for a new verdict.
Hana Tries to Keep KEB Deal Hopes Alive Se Young Lee 2011
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At no point did any juror argue that the defense had made a strong enough case to acquit.
Inside the Galleon Jury Room Jenny Strasburg 2011
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"Given the holes in the prosecution's case, there is sufficient doubt to acquit the accused," Mr. Vijayan wrote.
Anwar Trial Looms Over Malaysian Politics James Hookway 2011
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To acquit himself, Mr. Poczobut had to prove that Lukashenko was a dictator and that no free elections had been held in Belarus since the president consolidated power in 1996, two years after he first took office.
Lukashenko's Least-Favorite Writer William Schreiber 2011
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