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An indictment is an official accusation stating that a person is being charged with a crime and that a criminal trial will be held.

An indictment is the final step in the evidence-gathering process before a person is put on trial for a serious crime, especially a felony. In the U.S., such indictments are presented by a grand jury—the group of people responsible for determining whether there is enough evidence of a crime for a suspect to be put on trial.

Indictment can also be used in a more general way, outside of a legal context, to mean an accusation, strong criticism, or something that has the effect of revealing something as being deserving of criticism.

Indictment is a noun form of the verb indict, which can be used in the sense of making formal criminal charges or in the more general sense of accusing or criticizing.

Example: According to the indictment, the suspect is being charged with armed robbery.

The first records of the word indictment come from around 1300. Its base word, indict, comes from the Latin ���Ի�ī���ٳܲ�, a form of the verb ���Ի�ī�������, meaning “to announce” or “to proclaim.”

An indictment is a formal announcement officially accusing someone of a crime. An indictment is issued only after a prosecutor and a grand jury have determined that police investigators have gathered enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. In the U.S. and the U.K., the law requires an indictment in order to charge someone with a serious crime or felony. This process is intended to ensure that a case only goes to trial if there is sufficient evidence.

Outside of the courtroom, indictment is often used in the context of strong criticism of serious wrongdoing, especially when it’s delivered in a formal way, as in Today’s opinion piece is a serious indictment of the administration. In this sense, an indictment isn’t always a statement—someone’s bad behavior could be an indictment of their character.

What are some other forms related to indictment?

• nonindictment (noun)
• reindictment (noun)
• superindictment (noun)
• indict (verb)

What are some synonyms for indictment?

• accusation
• arraignment

What are some words that share a root or word element with indictment?��

• indictable
• indite
• dictate

What are some words that often get used in discussing indictment?

• charge
• crime
• trial
• felony
• grand jury
• character

Indictments usually involve serious crimes or wrongdoing. High-profile criminal indictments often make the news.

According to the indictment, Cobra's president provided FEMA's regional administrator with personal helicopter use, hotel accommodations, airfare, personal security services, and the use of a credit card in exchange for influence to receive power restoration work.

— Ari Natter (@AriNatter)

This article is a strong indictment of the illusion of meritocracy.

— Dr. Mansa Keita (@rasmansa)

The number of people who think that Revenge of the Sith is one of the best Star Wars movies is a stunning indictment of Star Wars.

— colette arrand (@colettearrand)

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True or False?

An indictment is presented at the end of a criminal trial.