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indictment

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indictment

  • /ɪnˈdaɪt.mənt/ US

Where it comes from

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

noun indictments · endictment

  1. countable, uncountable An official formal accusation for a criminal offence, or the process by which it is brought to a jury. 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.
  2. countable, uncountable The official legal document outlining the charges concerned; bill of indictment. […]— 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. 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?
  4. countable, uncountable Evidence of failure or poor performance. an indictment of his ability to lead

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: impeachment, arraignment, prosecution, prosecute, lawsuit, sentence, sentencing, accused, injunction, claim, prosecutor, charge, committal, conviction, allegation, imputation

Translations

Every language

noun accusation

Españolacusación
DeutschBeschuldigung
Русскийобвине́ние obvinénije

noun criminal accusation

Españolformulación de cargos
한국어기소 giso
日本語起訴 kiso
中文起訴 /起诉 qǐsù, 公訴 /公诉 gōngsù
हिन्दीअभियोग abhiyog
Portuguêsindiciamento
Françaisinculpation, mise en examen
DeutschAnklage
Русскийобвини́тельный акт obvinítelʹnyj akt, обвине́ние obvinénije

noun bill of indictment

Españolescrito de acusación
中文起訴狀 /起诉状 qǐsùzhuàng, 訴狀 /诉状 sùzhuàng, 公訴書 /公诉书 gōngsù shū
Françaisacte d'accusation
DeutschAnklageschrift
Italianoatto d’accusa

noun evidence of failure

DeutschBeweis für das Versagen

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Cite this
MLA

"indictment." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/indictment. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

indictment. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/indictment

Chicago

"indictment." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/indictment.

BibTeX
@misc{indictment_2026,
  title = {indictment},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/indictment},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}