Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Defendant |
DefendantNoun1. A person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "defendant" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Law | In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A respondent is the parallel term used in a proceeding which is commenced by petition.
Historically, a defendant in a civil action could also be taken into custody pursuant to a writ of capias ad respondendum and forced to post bail before being released from custody. However, a modern day defendant in a civil action is usually able to avoid most (if not all) court appearances if he or she is represented by a lawyer whereas a defendant in a criminal case (particularly a felony) is usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody and must be present at every stage thereafter of the proceedings against him or her.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Defendant."
Synonym: DefendantSynonym: suspect (n). (additional references) |
| Antonym: plaintiff (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Accusation | Accused, defendant, prisoner, perpetrator, panel, respondent; litigant. |
Lawsuit | Suitor, party to a suit; plaintiff, defendant, litigant. |
Vindication | Apologist, vindicator, justifier; defendant. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | : Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is irrefutable evidence that the defendant is guilty (Catch Me If You Can; writing credit: Frank Abagnale Jr.; Stan Redding) The defendant! (Fair Game; writing credit: Charlie Fletcher) Today, thirty years later, I'm asking you twelve ladies and gentlemen to act boldly; to hold this defendant accountable and find him guilty simply because it is right, it is just, and Lord knows, it is time (Ghosts of Mississippi; writing credit: Lewis Colick) People that represent the victim as well as the defendant (Law & Order; writing credit: Peter Yeldham) Before we sentence the deceased, I mean defendant, I think we had better hear from the prosecution (Blackadder Goes Forth; writing credit: Richard Curtis; Ben Elton) | |
Clever | Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | W.D. Lyons, NAACP defendant, handcuffed and standing next to six arresting officers and attorneys, Hugo, Okla.] / College Studio. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Miranda v. Arizona | 1966 | Unless adequate preventive measures are taken to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, no statement obtained from the defendant can truly be the product of his free choice. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | In serious cases, the defendant may be required to reinstate the market conditions prior to the illegal marketing campaign. (references) | |
An assistant, Champa Chung, was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment, and a third defendant, Samdrup, received 2 years' imprisonment. (references) | ||
In such cases where the court rules in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant must then pay damages, fines, and the plaintiff's court costs. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Greece | In most criminal defamation cases, the defendant typically was released on bail pending appeal, and no jail time was ever served. (references) |
Poland | The case against talk show host Wojciech Cejrowski, charged with publicly insulting President Kwasniewski, was decided against the defendant in April 1998; an appeal was pending at year's end. (references) | |
Namibia | During the year, police arrested and charged with interference with the police a journalist for The Namibian when he attempted to photograph a defendant in the CLA trials who was hospitalized at the time; the journalist's camera was confiscated, and he was detained briefly, but the charges were dropped the same day. (references) | |
Economic History | Nigeria | Even in cases where creditors with collateral have obtained a judgement against a defendant, claims may not be paid. (references) |
Uae | Comprehensive rules were provided in connection with the various types of preventive and provisional remedies prior to the litigation process and upon the issuance of judgments, including attachment of property, confiscation of the defendant's passport and prohibitions on travel, as well as the detention of the defendant in certain instances. (references) | |
Human Rights | Romania | Either a plaintiff or a defendant may appeal. (references) |
Minorities | Switzerland | The fourth defendant was tried as a juvenile; he is required to undergo a psychiatric and educational program for 2 years. (references) |
Egypt | One defendant was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 3 defendants were convicted of arson and sentenced to 1 year in prison. (references) | |
Germany | Authorities convicted three perpetrators; a 24-year-old defendant was sentenced to life in prison, and two 16-year-old accomplices were sentenced to 9 years in a youth facility. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sudan | In theory the Government provides legal counsel for indigent persons in such cases; however, reports continue that defendants do not always receive this right, and that counsel in some cases only may advise the defendant and may not address the court. (references) |
Women | Jordan | According to Article 340 of the Penal Code, a "crime of honor" defense may be invoked by a defendant accused of murder who "surprises his wife or any close female relative" in an act of adultery or fornication, in which case the perpetrator of the honor crime is judged not guilty of murder. (references) |
Jordan | Although few defendants are able to meet the stringent requirements for a crime of honor defense (the defendant personally must have witnessed the female victim engaging in sexual relations), most avoid trial for the crime of murder, and are tried instead on the charge of manslaughter; even those convicted of murder rarely spend more than 2 years in prison. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Belarus | When the case was first tried in October 2000, the accused received a 4 year sentence for pandering but the Grodno Regional Court dismissed the verdict and ordered a new investigation in order for the defendant to be charged under the new Criminal Code. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | TRIAL, n. A formal inquiry designed to prove and put upon record the blameless characters of judges, advocates and jurors. In order to effect this purpose it is necessary to supply a contrast in the person of one who is called the defendant, the prisoner, or the accused. If the contrast is made sufficiently clear this person is made to undergo such an affliction as will give the virtuous gentlemen a comfortable sense of their immunity, added to that of their worth. In our day the accused is usually a human being, or a socialist, but in mediaeval times, animals, fishes, reptiles and insects were brought to trial. A beast that had taken human life, or practiced sorcery, was duly arrested, tried and, if condemned, put to death by the public executioner. Insects ravaging grain fields, orchards or vineyards were cited to appeal by counsel before a civil tribunal, and after testimony, argument and condemnation, if they continued in contumaciam the matter was taken to a high ecclesiastical court, where they were solemnly excommunicated and anathematized. In a street of Toledo, some pigs that had wickedly run between the viceroy's legs, upsetting him, were arrested on a warrant, tried and punished. In Naples and ass was condemned to be burned at the stake, but the sentence appears not to have been executed. D'Addosio relates from the court records many trials of pigs, bulls, horses, cocks, dogs, goats, etc., greatly, it is believed, to the betterment of their conduct and morals. In 1451 a suit was brought against the leeches infesting some ponds about Berne, and the Bishop of Lausanne, instructed by the faculty of Heidelberg University, directed that some of "the aquatic worms" be brought before the local magistracy. This was done and the leeches, both present and absent, were ordered to leave the places that they had infested within three days on pain of incurring "the malediction of God." In the voluminous records of this cause celebre nothing is found to show whether the offenders braved the punishment, or departed forthwith out of that inhospitable jurisdiction. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dominick Dunne | Well, I mean shocked with delight, I have to tell you, because I mean, you know, I always think that the defendant who gets the million dollar lawyer is going to beat the local, overworked, underpaid prosecutor, but it didn't work out that way this time. |
Nancy Grace | I really do believe that. As much as I feel sympathy that they have been mistreated in their lives or had a tough time, what about the innocent victim. To fault of their own has been mistreated by the defendant. |
Rush Limbaugh | Accountants also won the elimination of joint and severe liability, which holds any single defendant in a lawsuit liable for all the damages. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Defendant" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Defendant" is used about 3,311 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 3,311 | 2,886 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "defendant": defendant-on. | |
Ending with "defendant": co-defendant. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "defendant"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | beklaagde (accused). (various references) | |
Albanian | i pandehur (accused), i akuzuar (accused, indictee, prisoner at the bar). (various references) | |
Arabic | المدعى عليه (accused, respondent). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ответник (libellee), ответен, обвиняем (culprit, respondent), подсъдим (culprit, prisoner at the bar). (various references) | |
Chinese | 被告 . (various references) | |
Czech | obvinìný, obžalovaný (accused, indictee). (various references) | |
Danish | sagsøgte (party against whom the application is made). (various references) | |
Dutch | beschuldigde (accused), verweerder (accused), beklaagde (accused), aangeklaagde (accused). (various references) | |
Esperanto | kulpigito (accused), akuzito (accused). (various references) | |
Farsi | مدعی علیه . (various references) | |
Finnish | syytetty (the accused). (various references) | |
French | accusé, défendeur. (various references) | |
Frisian | oanklage (accused), ferklage (accused), beskuldige (accused). (various references) | |
German | Beklagter (party against whom the application is made), Angeklagter (accused), Angeklagte (accused). (various references) | |
Greek | κατηγορούμενοσ (accused, charged), κατηγορούμενος (accused), καθού, εναγόμενοσ, εναγόμενος. (various references) | |
Hebrew | תבע (claimed, requested, respondent), אשם (accused, charged), טען (chargeable, laden, loaded). (various references) | |
Hungarian | vádlott (accused, accusee, culprit, indictee, prisoner at the bar). (various references) | |
Icelandic | sakborningur (accused), ákærði (accused). (various references) | |
Indonesian | terdakwa (the accused). (various references) | |
Italian | imputato (accused), accusato (accused, respondent). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 被告 (the accused). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ひ"くに" (accused, prisoner at the bar), ひ"く (the accused). (various references) | |
Korean | " . (various references) | |
Manx | fendeilagh (defender, defensive, protective, protector, tenable). (various references) | |
Norwegian | saksøkt. (various references) | |
Papiamen | akusado (accused). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | efendantday.(various references) | |
Portuguese | réu (culprit, defaulter, delinquent, respondent). (various references) | |
Romanian | pârât (culprit), inculpat (culprit), acuzat (accused, culprit, prisoner), împricinat (litigant). (various references) | |
Russian | ответчик (answerer, respondent), обвиняемый (accusable, accused, accuseds, indictee), подсудимый (accused, prisoner on bail). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | tuženik (respondent), optuženik (accused, indictee), optuženi, okrivljen (accused, offender). (various references) | |
Spanish | acusado (accused, charged, decided, displayed, indicted, marked, prisoner, pronounced, respondent, striking), demandado (respondent). (various references) | |
Swedish | svarande (respondent). (various references) | |
Turkish | davalı (defence, defense, libelee, libellee, respondent), zanlı (culprit, suspect), sanık (accused, culprit, defence, defense, prisoner at the bar, respondent, suspect). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | відповідач (answerer, appellate, respondent), обвинувачений (accused, appellate), підсудний (accused, amenable, culprit, indictee, jurisdictional, prisoner). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | bị cáo. (various references) | |
Welsh | diffynnyddes, diffynnydd. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | amorrei, amorreis, amorreo, amorreorum, amorreos, amorreum, amorreus, defensor, defensorem, defensori, itureae, iturei, rea, rei, reum, reus, rhei. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "defendant": defendants. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "defendant": codefendant. (additional references) | |
Words containing "defendant": codefendants. (additional references) | |
| |
"Defendant" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Debenhans, decendant, defedent, defendan, defendent, Desenfans, devenant, Devendra, Difenditi, digenean. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "defendant" (pronounced dufe"ndunt) |
| 6 | -e" n d u n t | ascendant, attendant, dependent, descendant, descendent, independent, interdependent, pendant, resplendent, superintendent, transcendent. |
| 5 | -n d u n t | abundant, corespondent, correspondent, despondent, redundant, respondent. |
| 4 | -d u n t | antecedent, antioxidant, ardent, accident, coincident, confident, imprudent, decadent, decedent, discordant, dissident, evident, incident, mordant, nonresident, overconfident, oxidant, precedent, provident, prudent, resident, retardant, rodent, strident, student, trident, verdant. |
| 3 | -u n t | agent, aggrandizement, agreement, ailment, alignment, allotment, amazement, ambient, ambivalent, amendment, amusement, ancient, announcement, annulment, antidepressant, antigovernment, apartment, apparent, appeasement, applicant, appointment, apportionment, argent, argument, armament, arraignment, arrangement, arrant, arrogant, absent, absorbent, abstinent, accelerant, accompaniment, accomplishment, abandonment, abatement, aberrant, abhorrent, abortifacient, accountant, accouterment, achievement, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, adamant, adherent, adjacent, adjournment, adjustment, adjutant, adolescent, adornment, advancement, advertisement, advisement, afferent, affiant, affluent, aspirant, assailant, assessment, assignment, assistant, assortment, astonishment, astringent, atonement, attachment, attainment, banishment, basement, battlement, belligerent, bemusement, beneficent, benevolent, bereavement, betterment, bewilderment, blandishment, blatant, bombardment, brilliant, buoyant, celebrant, claimant, clairvoyant, Clement, client, coefficient, cogent, cognizant, coherent, combatant, commandment, commencement, commitment, compartment, competent, complacent, complainant, complaisant, complement, compliant, component, comportment, concealment, concomitant, concurrent, condiment, confinement, confluent, consequent, consignment, consistent, consonant, constant, constituent, consultant, containment, contaminant, contentment, contestant, continent, contingent, convalescent, convenient, convent, convergent, conversant, coolant, copayment, cormorant, Courant, covenant, Crescent, crosscurrent, current, curtailment, ignorant, immanent, immigrant, imminent, impairment, impatient, impeachment, impediment, impertinent, implement, important, impotent, impoundment, impoverishment, impressment, imprisonment, improvement, inadvertent, incandescent, debarment, debasement, decent, declarant, decongestant, deferment, defiant, deficient, defoliant, delinquent, deodorant, department, deployment, deportment, depressant, derailment, detachment, detergent, determent, determinant, deterrent, detriment, development, deviant, different, diligent, diminishment, disagreement, disappointment, disarmament, disbarment, disbursement, discernment, discouragement, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, disestablishment, disgruntlement, disillusionment, disinfectant, disinvestment, dismantlement, dismemberment, disobedient, dispersant, displacement, dissonant, distant, divalent, divergent, divestment, docent, dominant, dormant, easement, ebullient, efferent, effervescent, efficient, effluent, elegant, element, elephant, eloquent, embankment, embarrassment, embayment, embellishment, embezzlement, embodiment, emergent, emigrant, eminent, emplacement, employment, empowerment, enactment, encampment, enchantment, encirclement, encouragement, encroachment, endangerment, endearment, endorsement, endowment, enforcement, engagement, enhancement, enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enlistment, enrichment, enrollment, enslavement, entanglement, entertainment, enticement, entitlement, entombment, entrant, entrapment, entrenchment, environment, equipment, equivalent, errant, escapement, escarpment, esculent, establishment, estrangement, evanescent, excellent, excitement, excrement, exigent, existent, exorbitant, expectant, expectorant, expedient, experiment, exponent, extant, extinguishment, extravagant, exuberant, exultant, Fabricant, fervent, figment, filament, flagrant, flamboyant, flatulent, flippant, fluent, fluorescent, formant, fragment, fragrant, fraudulent, frequent, fulfillment, gallant, garment, garnishment, giant, government, grandiloquent, grandparent, harassment, hesitant, hydrant, incessant, incipient, incitement, inclement, incoherent, incompetent, inconsistent, incontinent, inconvenient, increment, incumbent, indecent, indictment, indifferent, indigent, indignant, indolent, inducement, indulgent, inefficient, infant, informant, infotainment, infrequent, infringement, ingredient, inhabitant, inhalant, inherent, innocent, inpatient, insignificant, insistent, insolent, insolvent, installment, instant, instrument, insufficient, insurgent, integument, intelligent, intercurrent, intermittent, internment, intersegment, intolerant, intransigent, invariant, investment, involvement, iridescent, irrelevant, irreverent, irritant, itinerant, jubilant, judgement, judgment, latent, leant, lenient, lieutenant, ligament, litigant, lubricant, lucent, luminescent, luxuriant, magnificent, malevolent, malignant, maltreatment, management, measurement, merchant, micromanagement, migrant, militant, miscreant, misgovernment, misjudgment, mismanagement, misstatement, mistreatment, moment, monovalent, monument, movement, mutant, nascent, negligent, noncombatant, nonexistent, nongovernment, nonmanagement, nonpayment, nonviolent, nourishment, nutrient, obedient, observant, obsolescent, occupant, odorant, ointment, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, operant, opponent, opulent, ornament, orpiment, outpatient, outplacement, overpayment, overstatement, pageant, parchment, parent, parliament, participant, patent, patient, pavement, payment, peasant, penchant, penitent, pennant, percipient, permanent, persistent, pertinent, petulant, pheasant, pigment, piquant, placement, pleasant, pliant, poignant, pollutant, postponement, postretirement, potent, preadolescent, predicament, predominant, preeminent, pregnant, prejudgment, prepayment, prescient, present, presentment, prevalent, procurement, proficient, prominent, pronouncement, propellant, proponent, protestant, prurient, pungent, punishment, pursuant, puzzlement, quadrant, quiescent, quotient, radiant, rampant, readjustment, reagent, realignment, reappointment, reapportionment, rearmament, rearrangement, reassessment, reassignment, recalcitrant, recent, recipient, recombinant, recruitment, recurrent, redeployment, redevelopment, reemployment, reenactment, refinement, refreshment, refrigerant, refurbishment, Regent, regiment, registrant, reimbursement, reinforcement, reinstatement, reinvestment, relevant, reliant, reluctant, reminiscent, remnant, repayment, repellent, repentant, replacement, replenishment, repugnant, requirement, resentment, resettlement, resilient, resistant, resonant, restatement, resultant, resurgent, reticent, retirement, retrenchment, reverent, rudiment, ruminant, sacrament, salient, seafront, sealant, sediment, segment, semipermanent, sentiment, Sequent, sergeant, serpent, servant, settlement, shipment, significant, silent, solvent, somnolent, stagnant, statement, stimulant, stringent, subcontinent, subsequent, subservient, succulent, sufficient, supergiant, supplement, supplicant, suppressant, surfactant, talent, tangent, temperament, tenant, tenement, testament, tetravalent, tolerant, torrent, tournament, transient, translucent, transparent, treatment, trenchant, triumphant, truant, truculent, tumescent, turbulent, tyrant, undercurrent, underdevelopment, underemployment, undergarment, underpayment, understatement, unemployment, unimportant, unpleasant, unrepentant, urgent, vacant, vagrant, valiant, variant, vehement, vibrant, vigilant, violent, virulent, warrant, wonderment. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-d-d-e-e-f-n-n-t" | |
-3 letters: anteed, deaden, deafen, deaned, defeat, defend, denned, dented, ennead, fanned, fended, neaten, tanned, tended. | |
-4 letters: anent, anted, dated, defat, eaten, enate, ended, faded, fated, feted. | |
-5 letters: ante, daft, date, dead, deaf, dean, deed, deet, deft, dene, dent, etna, fade, fane, fate, feat, feed, feet, fend, feta, fete, neat, need, nene, teed, teen, tend. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-d-d-e-e-f-n-n-t" | |
+1 letter: defendants. | |
+2 letters: codefendant. | |
+3 letters: codefendants, nonfederated. | |
+4 letters: underinflated. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Historic | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
