indictment
/ɪnˈdʌɪtm(ə)nt
/noun
1chiefly North American A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime: an indictment for conspiracy...
- The appellant was charged on a separate indictment with criminal involvement in the two drug importations in April and May 1996.
- What obstacle would there then have been to the presentation of an indictment for the extradition offence?
- Under the agreement, the military is not obliged to turn over personnel accused of crimes until a formal indictment has been made.
Synonyms
charge, accusation, arraignment, citation, summons;
allegation, imputation;
British plaint;
North American impeachment
North American informal beef
archaic inculpation
1.1 [mass noun] The action of indicting or being indicted: the indictment of twelve people who had imported cocaine...
- This offence is punishable with up to ten years' imprisonment following conviction on indictment.
- It is my submission that the matter is, at its simplest level, where a person is not convicted on indictment he is convicted summarily.
- In many of these instances, there was no trial, or even indictment - the suspects were detained nevertheless.
2A thing that serves to illustrate that a system or situation is bad and deserves to be condemned: these rapidly escalating crime figures are an indictment of our society...
- I have never and would never advocate violence as a solution to any problem but it is a sad indictment of our system that in the end it was the only way out for us.
- It's a woeful indictment of a hopeless situation.
- A powerful indictment of the system, it errs on the side of cartoonish overstatement once or twice but overall is well worth seeing.
Origin
Middle English enditement, inditement, from Anglo-Norman French enditement, from enditer (see indict).