acquit definition | Dictionary.com

ac⋅quit

[uh-kwit]

–verb (used with object), -quit⋅ted, -quit⋅ting.

1.	to relieve from a charge of fault or crime; declare not guilty: They acquitted him of the crime. The jury acquitted her, but I still think she's guilty.

2.	to release or discharge (a person) from an obligation.

3.	to settle or satisfy (a debt, obligation, claim, etc.).

4.	to bear or conduct (oneself); behave: He acquitted himself well in battle.

5.	to free or clear (oneself): He acquitted himself of suspicion.

Origin:
1200–50; ME aquiten < AF, OF a(c)quiter, deriv., with a(c)- ac-, of quite free of obligations < ML quit(t)us, L quiētus quiet ¹ ; cf. quit

Related forms:

ac⋅quit⋅ter, noun

Synonyms:
1. exculpate. See absolve. 2. free.

Antonyms:
1. convict.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To acquit

ac·quit (ə-kwĭt')

tr.v. ac·quit·ted, ac·quit·ting, ac·quits

Law To free or clear from a charge or accusation.
To release or discharge from a duty.
To conduct (oneself) in a specified manner: acquitted herself well during the interview.
Obsolete To repay.

[Middle English aquiten, from Old French aquiter : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + quite, free, clear (from Medieval Latin quittus, variant of Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere, to rest; see k^weiə- in Indo-European roots).]
ac·quit'ter n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Acquit

Ac*quit"\, p. p. Acquitted; set free; rid of. [Archaic] --Shak.

Acquit

Ac*quit"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Acquitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Acquitting.] [OE. aquiten, OF. aquiter, F. acquitter; ? (L. ad) + OF. quiter, F. quitter, to quit. See Quit, and cf. Acquiet.]

1. To discharge, as a claim or debt; to clear off; to pay off; to requite.

A responsibility that can never be absolutely acquitted. --I. Taylor.

2. To pay for; to atone for. [Obs.] --Shak.

3. To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, duty, liability, burden, or from an accusation or charge; -- now followed by of before the charge, formerly by from; as, the jury acquitted the prisoner; we acquit a man of evil intentions.

4. Reflexively: (a) To clear one's self. --Shak. (b) To bear or conduct one's self; to perform one's part; as, the soldier acquitted himself well in battle; the orator acquitted himself very poorly.

Syn: To absolve; clear; exonerate; exonerate; exculpate; release; discharge. See Absolve.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : acquit

Spanish: absolver,

German: freisprechen,

Japanese: 無罪にする

More Translations »

acquit

c.1230, "to satisfy a debt" (either for oneself or on behalf of another), from O.Fr. acquitter "settle a claim," from à "to" + quite "free, clear" (see quit). Meaning "free from charges" is c.1386. Sense of "to discharge one's duty" is from c.1386.

Main Entry: ac·quit
Pronunciation: &-'kwit
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: ac·quit·ted; ac·quit·ting
Etymology: Old French acquiter to pay off, absolve, acquit, from a-, prefix marking causation + quite free (of an obligation)
transitive verb : to discharge completely: as a : to release from liability for a debt or other obligation —usually used in agreements acquit, and discharge each other> b : to absolve (a criminal defendant) of a charge by judicial process c : to clear of wrongdoing acquit them of misrepresentation —In re Hiller, 694 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 540 (1985)> intransitive verb : to absolve a defendant of criminal liability acquit if any reasonable doubt existed —Commonwealth v. Gagliardi, 638 North Eastern Reporter, Second Series 20 (1994)> —compare CONVICT

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