What does acquitment mean?
Acquitment is a formal noun meaning that someone has been declared not guilty or has been released from blame, an accusation, or an obligation. Its most familiar use is in legal reporting, where an acquitment can refer to the result of a trial or to the formal clearing of a defendant on specified charges. The word may also be used more broadly for a person or organization being absolved of responsibility or released from a difficult position. Acquitment is closely related to acquittal, though acquittal more often names the legal verdict itself. The term has a solemn, institutional tone and is less usual in casual conversation. Its history reflects the older sense of acquit as setting someone free or settling a matter, with the legal meaning becoming dominant over time. Understanding acquitment is useful in discussing justice, responsibility, and the difference between evidence insufficient to convict and a positive declaration of innocence.
A legal finding or declaration that someone is not guilty of a crime or charge.
"She received a full acquitment after the case collapsed."
Formal and chiefly legal; acquittal is more common in many modern legal contexts.
The act of releasing someone or something from blame, an accusation, or an obligation.
"The report’s findings brought about the organization’s acquitment of responsibility for the failure."
This broader sense is less frequent than the legal sense but occurs in formal and figurative usage.
Used when referring to multiple findings or instances of being found not guilty or cleared of responsibility.
"The two acquitments were widely praised as fair decisions."
To be acquitted is not to quit: it means to be set free from blame, suspicion, or a criminal charge.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does acquitment come from?
Acquitment comes through Old French acquittement, a legal term derived from acquitter, “to release, declare free, or settle.” The French word continues Medieval Latin acquittere, formed with the prefix ad- and a root related to Latin quites, “at rest, free from obligation.” Related English forms include acquit, acquittal, and acquittee; the legal sense of clearing someone of a charge developed alongside the older sense of releasing someone from an obligation.
How acquitment is actually used
Acquitment is formal and chiefly used in legal or serious contexts. It is somewhat less common than acquittal in everyday legal writing, but it is used especially in phrases emphasizing a charge, accusation, or obligation being cleared.
Easily confused with acquitment
An acquittal is usually the formal legal finding or verdict that a defendant is not guilty, whereas acquitment more broadly refers to the act or result of being cleared of a charge or accusation.