Both Uses of
acquit
in
The Mill on the Floss
- But a man who had had a university education could teach anything he liked; especially a man like Stelling, who had made a speech at a Mudport dinner on a political occasion, and had acquitted himself so well that it was generally remarked, this son-in-law of Timpson's was a sharp fellow.
Chpt 1.3 (definition 1) *acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
- It seemed a wrong toward him that his uncle Deane had no confidence in him,—did not see at once that he should acquit himself well, which Tom himself was as certain of as of the daylight.†
Chpt 3.5 (definition 2) *
Definitions:
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(1) (acquit as in: she acquitted herself well) to handle oneself in a specified way -- which is typically in a positive way
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(2) (acquit as in: she was acquitted) to officially find "not guilty" of criminal chargeseditor's notes: Note that to be acquitted is not the same as being declared innocent of an offense due to the presumption of innocence in the American judicial system. The court determines if there is sufficient evidence to find someone guilty. Some crimes require a lot of evidence for a conviction, so while there may not be enough evidence to declare someone guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, there also may not be enough evidence to declare a defendant innocent except through the presumption of innocence.