1
as in referee
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy
since they seemed to be in a hopeless stalemate, both labor and management agreed to use an independent adjudicator to decide the terms of the contract
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in judge
a public official having authority to decide questions of law
the appellate court refused to hear the case, thus allowing the judgment of previous adjudicators to stand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adjudicator
In recent months, EOIR leadership has criticized judges for not efficiently managing their caseloads, and has encouraged adjudicators to streamline asylum reviews and give oral, as opposed to written, decisions on case dismissals.
—
Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
Edlow told The Associated Press that the guidance was intended to identify support for terrorist ideologies—not to penalize ordinary political criticism—when adjudicators evaluated applicants for green cards and other benefits.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
This led to many longtime employees of companies leaving the United States when USCIS adjudicators rejected their H-1B applications.
—Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Under the plans, an independent body of adjudicators would be created to handle asylum appeals and reduce the backlog of 106,000 cases, including 51,000 appeals with average wait times exceeding a year.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
An official adjudicator from Guinness World Records was onsite, according to the lottery.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Similarly, the program still has eight adjudicators, known as special masters, to review all cases before the government.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
Edlow told The Associated Press that the guidance was intended to identify support for terrorist ideologies—not to penalize ordinary political criticism—when adjudicators evaluated applicants for green cards and other benefits.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
This led to many longtime employees of companies leaving the United States when USCIS adjudicators rejected their H-1B applications.
—Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Under the plans, an independent body of adjudicators would be created to handle asylum appeals and reduce the backlog of 106,000 cases, including 51,000 appeals with average wait times exceeding a year.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
An official adjudicator from Guinness World Records was onsite, according to the lottery.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Similarly, the program still has eight adjudicators, known as special masters, to review all cases before the government.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adjudicator
Noun
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That’s been done either by having referees call phantom penalties on Chiefs opponents or not flagging Kansas City players.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
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No penalty was called and Rust, who rarely shows any emotion in the direction of officials, merely sat on the ice for a moment staring down the referee.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The complaint asked the judge to order officials to reinstate the removed books and to bar Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and DoDEA Director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez from ordering further removals from school libraries and curriculum.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
12 Oct. 2025
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The latest federal judge has allowed troops from Texas to remain in Illinois, but said they can't be deployed in Chicago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The umpire called Robinson safe, while Berra animatedly disagreed.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Raducanu saw the man during her match against Karolína Muchová, approaching the chair umpire in tears during the second game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Bilodeau was arrested Tuesday and arraigned in a Nassau County court Wednesday morning.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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Still, Mazzulla has let his new guard hear about his mistakes on that end of the court.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adjudicator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adjudicator. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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