oordeels

Oordeels is a Dutch noun related to judgments or evaluations. In English, it is often translated as judgment or opinion, and the term appears in various forms across legal, philosophical, and everyday language. In modern Dutch, oordeels is not as commonly used as the related noun oordeel (singular) or oordelen (plural or verb form); when the concept is discussed, speakers more often use these other forms. Nevertheless, oordeels appears in fixed phrases and academic writing, especially in compounds such as oordeelsvorming and oordeelsvermogen.

In everyday use, oordeels denotes the act or result of forming an assessment about a person, a situation, or a claim. Philosophical and psychological contexts frequently discuss the process of oordeelsvorming (formation of judgments) and oordeelsvermogen (capacity to judge or discern). These terms focus on cognitive evaluation, critical thinking, and the reliability of conclusions. In ethical discussions, a more specific sense of oordeels may refer to moral judgments or value assessments, such as een ethisch oordeel.

In the legal domain, Dutch terminology distinguishes between judgment as a cognitive or evaluative assessment and the formal decision of a court. Ver verdicts or rulings are typically referred to as vonnis or uitspraak, while oordeels can signal the judge’s evaluative stance or the reasoning underlying a decision rather than the final legal order.

Etymologically, oordeels is derived from the verb oordelen, which traces back to older Germanic roots meaning to judge. Related terms across Dutch and other Germanic languages reflect the core idea of forming judgments and assessments.

See also: oordeel, oordelen, oordeelsvorming, oordeelsvermogen, vooroordeel.