The word "acquitted" is pronounced as [əˈkwɪtɪd], with the stress on the second syllable. The first syllable is pronounced as a schwa sound, followed by the consonant cluster "qu". The "qu" combination is pronounced as a "kw" sound, followed by the short "i" sound and the "t" sound. Finally, the word ends with the "ed" suffix, which is pronounced as a separate syllable with the "t" sound. "Acquitted" is the past tense of the verb "acquit," which means to declare someone not guilty of a crime.
Acquitted is a term typically used in legal contexts to signify that an individual has been officially found not guilty or cleared of a particular crime or charge. It is a legal outcome resulting from a trial, where a judge or jury has considered all the evidence and has concluded that the accused is innocent. When someone is acquitted, it means that they are absolved of any criminal responsibility and are deemed to have not committed the offense they were accused of.
The acquittal process involves a thorough examination of evidence, witness testimonies, and various legal arguments from both the prosecution and the defense. The purpose is to establish whether there is enough proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict the person on trial. If the evidence is insufficient, contradictory, or fails to prove the guilt of the defendant, they may be acquitted.
An acquittal has significant implications for the defendant's legal standing, as it serves as an exoneration from the alleged crime. Once acquitted, the person cannot be retried for the same offense, as this would violate the principle of double jeopardy, which protects individuals from being prosecuted multiple times for the same crime.
In summary, being acquitted means successfully defending oneself in a court of law and being declared not guilty of a crime due to a lack of sufficient evidence or a failure to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
* 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 "acquitted" comes from the Middle English phrase "a-", which means "to release" or "to free", and "quit", which means "to pay one's debt" or "to discharge". The word ultimately derives from Old French "acquiter", meaning "to fulfill", "to settle", or "to release from a duty or debt". It can be traced back further to the Latin word "ad" (meaning "to, toward") and "quietare" (meaning "to quiet" or "to calm").