The word "acquits" is spelled with the letters A-C-Q-U-I-T-S. The vowel sound in the first syllable is represented by the letter A which is pronounced as /ə/ or "uh" in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The next syllable contains the letter U which is pronounced as /ʌ/ or "uh" sound. The consonants in the word are pronounced as /kwɪts/, with the letter Q representing /kw/ sound. The word "acquits" means to clear or declare someone not guilty in a court of law.
The verb "acquits" refers to the act of declaring someone not guilty after a trial or legal process. It indicates that an individual has been absolved of any charges or allegations against them. This legal term is often used in the context of criminal law, when a court decides that the accused party is innocent and should not be held responsible for the crime they were charged with.
To acquit someone, the court carefully evaluates the evidence and arguments presented by both the prosecution and defense. If the judge or jury concludes that there is reasonable doubt regarding the guilt of the accused, they issue a verdict of acquittal. This decision effectively dismisses the allegations, ruling that the defendant did not commit the offense and is therefore not accountable for it.
Acquittal is primarily based on the presumption of innocence, which places the burden of proof on the prosecution. In order to secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. If this burden is not met, the court is obliged to acquit the defendant.
In a broader sense, "acquits" can also be used metaphorically or figuratively outside of a legal context. For example, it can imply that someone has been cleared of suspicion or blame in a non-legal situation.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "acquits" is derived from the Old French word "acquiter" which means "to release, pardon, or discharge". It ultimately traces back to the Latin word "ad-" (meaning "to") and "quietare" (meaning "to put in order" or "make quiet"). Over time, the meaning of "acquiter" shifted to specifically refer to the legal idea of releasing or discharging someone from an obligation or blame, which is the sense we use in English today.