res judicata

noun

A legal claim that has already been decided in another lawsuit or proceeding, and therefore must be dismissed.

Similar
res adjudicata
OriginLatin rēs →
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Meanings

nounres judicata (plural res judicatae)

plural res judicatae · alternative res adjudicata

  1. lawA legal claim that has already been decided in another lawsuit or proceeding, and therefore must be dismissed.
  2. lawThe legal doctrine that claims that a case already decided in a proceeding may not be brought in any later proceeding.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna matter already settled in court; cannot be raised again

Similar
res adjudicata
Broader
topicsubjectissue

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinrēs“thing, matter, affair”
  2. Englishres judicata

From Latin rēs (“thing, matter, affair”) and jūdicata, feminine nominative singular form of jūdicatus, past participle of jūdico (“judge”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 定讞 /定谳
  • 定讞 /定谳 (dìngyàn)legal doctrine
Finnish oikeusvoiman periaate, res judicata
  • oikeusvoiman periaatelegal doctrine
  • res judicatalegal doctrine
Irish scéal thairis
  • scéal thairislegal doctrine
Italian cosa giudicata
  • cosa giudicatalegal doctrine
Cite this entry
APA

res judicata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/res%20judicata

MLA

“res judicata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/res%20judicata. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “res judicata,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/res%20judicata.

Source: res judicata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.