What does acquitter mean?
An acquitter is a person who acquits — that is, who formally clears someone else of a criminal charge, accusation, or burden of guilt. The word most often applies to judges and jurors, whose verdict of not guilty makes them the acquitters of the accused, but it can extend more broadly to anyone who absolves another of blame or releases them from an obligation. Formed simply by adding the agentive suffix '-er' to the verb 'acquit', it belongs to the same legal family as 'acquittal' and 'acquit'. Despite its transparent construction, the word is genuinely rare: English speakers almost always reach for 'acquittal' when naming the verdict itself, or phrase the idea as a verb ('the jury acquitted her'). As a result, 'acquitter' carries a formal, somewhat literary register, appearing mainly in legal writing, historical narrative, or deliberate stylistic choice rather than everyday conversation.
nounA person who acquits another; one who clears someone of blame or a criminal charge, especially by delivering a verdict of not guilty.
- One who acquits another, especially a judge or jury member who delivers a verdict of not guilty.
- One who frees or discharges another from an obligation, duty, or blame.
"The jury foreman, as the formal acquitter of the accused, read the verdict in a steady voice."
"As the presiding judge and official acquitter of the defendant, she declared the case dismissed for lack of evidence."
"History remembers him less as a conqueror than as an acquitter of debts, forgiving what his rivals would have collected."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple people who acquit, such as members of a jury.
"The twelve acquitters filed out of the courtroom without speaking to reporters."
Every jury that returns 'not guilty' makes twelve acquitters at once — yet the word is so rare you've probably never heard it spoken aloud.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of acquitter
'Acquitter' derives from the verb 'acquit', which entered Middle English in the medieval period from Anglo-Norman French 'aquiter', meaning to settle, discharge, or free. The French verb traces back through Old French to the Latin root 'quietare' (to set at rest), from 'quies' (rest), the same source that gives us 'quit', 'quite', and 'requite'. The agent noun was formed in English by adding the suffix '-er', following the standard pattern for denoting one who performs an action.
Related word forms
How acquitter is actually used
Formal and rare; the agent noun formed from 'acquit' with the -er suffix. In everyday usage, speakers overwhelmingly prefer the noun 'acquittal' (for the verdict) or verbal constructions like 'the jury acquitted him', making 'acquitter' chiefly a literary or legal-drafting term.
Easily confused with acquitter
An acquitter is the person who clears someone of a charge, while an acquittal is the legal verdict or act of clearing them.