What does "arraignment" mean?

The formal charging of a defendant with an offense; in many jurisdictions it includes their response in the form of a plea, typically as guilty, not guilty, or no contest.

What is a synonym for "arraignment"?

Common synonyms include: accusal, accusation, accusing, allegation, allegement, anathema.

How do you pronounce "arraignment"?

Pronounced //əˈɹeɪnmənt//.

Arraignment

//əˈɹeɪnmənt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The formal charging of a defendant with an offense; in many jurisdictions it includes their response in the form of a plea, typically as guilty, not guilty, or no contest. countable, uncountable
"This process, Mr. Rothfeld said, could be interrupted at any moment if prosecutors in Los Angeles successfully extradite him for an arraignment on the sexual assault charges there."
2
a legal document calling someone to court to answer an indictment wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

accusal accusation accusing allegation allegement anathema

Example

More examples

"Today's arraignment hearing offers the defendant his first opportunity to state his case personally."

Etymology

From arraign + -ment.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.