Definitions for Defendant
dɪˈfɛn dənt or, esp. in court, -dæntde·fen·dant

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 4 votes

1. defendant, suspectnoun

   a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. defendantnoun

   In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.

2. defendantnoun

   In criminal proceedings, the accused.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendantadjective

   Defensive; fit for defence.

   Etymology: from defendo, Latin.

   Line and new repair our towns of war
   With men of courage, and with means defendant. William Shakespeare.

2. Defendantnoun

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. He that defends against assailants.

   Those high towers, out of which the Romans might more conveniently fight with the defendants on the wall, those also were broken by his engines. John Wilkins, Math. Mag.

   2. [In law.] The person accused or sued.

   This is the day appointed for the combat,
   And ready are th’ appellant and defendant. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.

   Plaintiff dog, and bear defendant. Hudibras.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendant

   In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots law, the terms "accused" or "panel" are used instead in criminal proceedings and "defender" in civil proceedings. Another term in use is "respondent".

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defendant

   A defendant is a person, company, or entity who is accused in a court of law or against whom a lawsuit or criminal prosecution has been initiated. They are required to respond to a plaintiff's allegations or the charges towards them by the prosecution in a lawsuit or criminal case.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Defendantadjective

   serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive

2. Defendantadjective

   making defense

3. Defendantnoun

   one who defends; a defender

4. Defendantnoun

   a person required to make answer in an action or suit; -- opposed to plaintiff

5. Etymology: [F. dfendant, p. pr. of dfendre. See Defend.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendant

   In a criminal trial, a defendant is any person accused of committing an offence, an act defined as punishable under criminal law. The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor. In a lawsuit, a defendant is also the accused party, although not of an offence, but of a civil wrong. The person who started the civil action through filing a complaint is referred to as the plaintiff. Defendants in civil actions usually make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons. But criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant. Historically, civil defendants could be taken into custody under a writ of capias ad respondendum and be forced to post bail before being released. But modern-day civil defendants are usually able to avoid most court appearances if represented by a lawyer. Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody and must be present at every stage of the proceedings against them.

Matched Categories

1. • Law
   • Litigant

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Defendant' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3010

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Defendant' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4703

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Defendant' in Nouns Frequency: #935

How to pronounce Defendant?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Defendant in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Defendant in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Defendant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of Defendant in a Sentence

1. Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes:

   If there is anyone who deserves the ultimate punishment, it is the defendant. However, we must overcome the impulse for vengeance.

2. Gaige Grosskreutz:

   Further inferencing from the things I had heard, experienced and witnessed earlier in the night, I thought the defendant was an active shooter.

3. Deputy District Attorney Valerie Brewster:

   This defendant went about her day, knowing her unnamed daughter was there, helpless. She thought and made that choice.

4. State Attorney R.J. Larizza:

   The statements that the defendant made to his friends made it clear that he was considering a homicide. And I got to tell you this, it’s disturbing and concerning that those statements were not … taken seriously by the folks that heard them.

5. State Assistant Attorney Harry Weller:

   This was a high-profile defendant and the court determined these charges were properly and better-off combined into one trial, expediting such cases has always been an important consideration for this court.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Defendant
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Defendant
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Defendant
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defendant
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Defendant
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Defendant