2 meanings
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1 —as in:
she was acquitted
Definition
to officially find "not guilty" of criminal charges; or (informally) to find someone innocent of a charge of having done wrong- It took the jury only 30 minutes to acquit her of the murder charge.
acquit = officially find "not guilty"
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She was acquitted of all charges.
- Despite acquittal on criminal charges, controversy remains and civil charges may be pending.
- Better acquit ten guilty men than punish one innocent man!Fyodor Dostoyevsky -- The Brothers Karamazov
- She is to be tried today, and I hope, I sincerely hope, that she will be acquitted.Mary Shelley -- Frankenstein
- A jury's not made up of battered women, but they've been known to acquit them before.Jodi Picoult -- Nineteen Minutes
- "You think they'll acquit him that fast?" asked Jem.Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Then he said I was acquitted and the whole case was closed.S.E. Hinton -- The Outsiders
- Frankly, I don't see how we can vote for acquittal.Reginald Rose -- Twelve Angry Men
- I do not pretend to know which was most to blame in their disagreements, though the Admiral's present conduct might incline one to the side of his wife; but it is natural and amiable that Miss Crawford should acquit her aunt entirely.Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
acquitted = officially found "not guilty"
acquittal = an official finding of "not guilty"
acquit = officially find "not guilty"
acquitted = officially found "not guilty"
acquit = officially found "not guilty"
acquit = officially declare "not guilty"
acquitted = officially found "not guilty"
acquittal = an official finding of "not guilty"
acquit = find blameless
2 —as in:
she acquitted herself well
Definition
to handle oneself in a specified way — which is typically in a positive way- Although they did not win, the team acquitted itself well and we were proud to have them represent us.
acquitted = handled (itself in a specified way)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She acquitted herself well at the interview.
- Twice I actually hired myself as an under-mate in a Greenland whaler, and acquitted myself to admiration.Mary Shelley -- Frankenstein
- After all that I said to her as we came along, I thought she would have behaved better; I told her how much might depend upon her acquitting herself well at first.Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- Danglars acquitted himself like a man placed between two dangerous positions, and who is rendered brave by fear.Alexandre Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo
- I had never before seen a centaur hang hooves on a tubular crest, but Chiron acquitted himself well.Rick Riordan -- The Trials of Apollo
- You acquitted yourself well, Eragon.Christopher Paolini -- Inheritance
- Maia especially was acquitting herself well.Cassandra Clare -- City of Fallen Angels
- In that, Brom acquitted himself with distinction.Christopher Paolini -- Brisingr
- Whatever else you might say of Bleys, on that day he acquitted himself as became his rank.Roger Zelazny -- Nine Princes in Amber
acquitted = handled (oneself in a specified way)
acquitted = handled
acquitting = handling (in the specified way)
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
acquitting = handling (conducting or behaving)
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
Less commonly:
Much less commonly and archaically, acquit can have other meanings. It can mean to release from a duty, as when Jane Austen wrote "I cannot acquit him of that duty" in her novel, Pride and Prejudice. It can also mean to perform and hence discharge oneself from an obligation, as when Charles Dickens wrote "I have a business charge to acquit myself of," in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities.