procesada

Procesada is the feminine form of the Spanish past participle of the verb procesar. As an adjective, it denotes something that has been processed or subjected to a process or treatment. It regularly occurs in phrases such as alimentos procesados (processed foods) or materiales procesados (processed materials). In grammatical terms, procesada agrees in gender and number with the nouns it describes.

In legal contexts, procesado/a is used in several Spanish-speaking jurisdictions to refer to a person who has been formally accused in a criminal proceeding. The status typically represents an intermediate step between investigation and trial, though the exact meaning and terminology vary by country. Some systems use terms such as imputado, investigado, or acusado for related stages. In media reporting, "la procesada" is sometimes used to refer specifically to a woman facing charges.

Outside law, the participle retains its general sense of processing and can describe anything that has undergone processing techniques or stages in industrial or administrative contexts. The term remains a neutral descriptor; its precise interpretation depends on context and regional legal practice. When translating or interpreting, it is important to consider jurisdictional differences in how the term aligns with criminal procedure stages.