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to discharge

to discharge

6 7.2
Officially say that someone is not guilty of a crime
  • verb
  • /dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ/
  • Formal
: sobreseer
  • Under Chapter 7, a person can be discharged of his or her financial obligations.

Examples

  • Do so; and in two days I will discharge thee.

  • Then he was discharged as mentally unfit.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Let the Defendant be discharged.

  • And I believe he should be discharged, as the State requested, on his upcoming 21st birthday.

  • The jury is discharged.

  • When a financial obligation is discharged, a debtor will be absolved from his or her legal duty to pay it.

    Blog text (34)
  • Following several gruesome interrogations, Joe Appiah was "cleared and discharged" on the 20th of August.

    Academic text (1991)
  • On the strength of the brother's sworn testimony, Judge John DeHaven discharged Yee Ot Wah as a citizen.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The jury found him not guilty, and the judge formally discharged him from all charges.

  • After reviewing the evidence, the prosecutor decided to discharge the case against the defendant.

Synonyms

to dismiss
vsto discharge
  • Formal
144 4.1

To end a legal case so the court does not consider it

is a formal clearing that declares not guilty rather than just ending the case
to acquit
vsto discharge
116 7.4

To say in court that someone is not guilty

is the formal legal clearing not limited to court verdicts
to exonerate
vsto discharge
  • Formal
77 8.2

To say officially that someone is not guilty of a crime

is focused on legal clearing from criminal accusation rather than broader responsibility
to absolve
vsto discharge
  • Formal
42 7.2

Make someone officially free from blame, guilt, or responsibility

is a formal legal clearing rather than a moral or religious pardon
to purge
vsto discharge
8 7.0

To clear someone of blame or guilt

is the formal legal act of clearing from criminal accusation rather than self-clearing
to exculpate
vsto discharge
  • Formal
3 9.9

To say officially that someone is not guilty of a crime

is the same formal legal act described in more general terms
to assoil
vsto discharge
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To say someone is not guilty of a crime

is the modern formal legal term rather than the old form

Antonyms

to convict
  • Formal
799 4.0

Find someone guilty of a crime in a court

Compounds

9 4.2

An official release from the military when someone leaves with a good record

5 6.7

Official removal from the military because of a serious crime or bad behavior

A fluid that comes from the vagina, usually clear or white

electrical discharge
  • Specialized
2 4.2

A sudden flow of electricity that makes a spark or flash

discharge pipe
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A pipe that carries water or waste away from a building

electric discharge
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A flow of electricity through a gas that makes light or a spark

discharge lamp
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A lamp that makes light when electricity passes between two metal points inside a gas

corona discharge
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A faint glow around a high-voltage wire when the air becomes charged

1 7.0

A lamp that makes light by passing electricity between two metal parts inside a glass tube

brush discharge
  • Specialized
9.9

A faint blue electric glow with many thin light rays that appears when high voltage makes a spark

gas-discharge lamp
  • Specialized
5.8

A lamp that makes light when electricity passes through gas in a glass tube

gas-discharge tube
  • Specialized
5.4

A sealed tube where electricity makes the gas inside glow

How Cleared

to exonerate
  • Formal
77 8.2
to discharge
  • Formal
6 7.2
to acquit
116 7.4

Surface Forms

discharge infinitive
discharged past
discharged past participle
discharging present participle
discharges third person singular

Morphology

discharge = charge (semi-transparent) = dis + charge

The legal sense can be understood as removing a criminal charge, but it is a specialized register-specific use.

Etymology

Discharge in law comes from the same idea of removing a 'charge' against someone, so to discharge a defendant is to take the accusation 'off' them and free them from the charge.