prosecute
Take to court
Prosecute means to pursue legal action against someone in court.
A prosecutor prosecutes cases on behalf of the state: The district attorney decided to prosecute.
More broadly, prosecute means to carry out or pursue an activity to completion: prosecute a war, prosecute an investigation.
This formal sense appears mainly in legal, military, and bureaucratic contexts.
Formally charge with crime
- arraignFormally charge in court
- chargeCost or accusation
- accuseClaim someone did wrong
- plaintiffCivil case initiator
defendant · subpoena · testimony · evidence · verdict · convict · acquit · plea
Judicial proceedings chamber
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
- proceedingsSequence of formal events
- judgeOne who decides
- bailiffLegal proceeding overseer
gavel · docket · summons · deliberation · sentencing · objection · rebuttal · discovery
Seek facts systematically
- pursueFollow to catch
- seekTry to find
- follow throughComplete an intended action
- continueGo on without stopping
carry on · conduct · persist · press · advance · proceed · maintain · sustain
Stubbornly persevering
- persistentContinuing despite difficulty
- tenaciousStubbornly determined to continue
- determinedFirmly committed to purpose
- resoluteFixed in purpose
tireless · assiduous · vigorous · aggressive · zealous · unrelenting · steadfast · thorough
indict
Formally charge with crime
plaintiff · defendant · subpoena · testimony · evidence · verdict · convict · acquit · plea · guilty
courtroom
Judicial proceedings chamber
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
- proceedingsSequence of formal events
- judgeOne who decides
bailiff · gavel · docket · summons · deliberation · sentencing · objection · rebuttal · discovery · deposition
investigate
Seek facts systematically
- pursueFollow to catch
- seekTry to find
- follow throughComplete an intended action
continue · carry on · conduct · persist · press · advance · proceed · maintain · sustain · undertake
dogged
Stubbornly persevering
- persistentContinuing despite difficulty
- tenaciousStubbornly determined to continue
- determinedFirmly committed to purpose
resolute · tireless · assiduous · vigorous · aggressive · zealous · unrelenting · steadfast · thorough · meticulous
- governance verbsgovern, rule, reign, legislate, regulate
- legal termstrial, legal, appeal, lawsuit, law
- Legal Actionssue, litigate, bring charges, press charges, indict
- accusationsaccusation, accuse, accuser, allegation, allege
- disapprovaldisapproval, scowl, disapprove, disapproves, frown
- bring infetch, carry, gather, collect, haul
- public prosecutorOfficial who brings charges
- special prosecutorsLawyers assigned to investigate officials
- federal prosecutorGovernment lawyer handling crimes
- criminal prosecutionGovernment's legal action against accused
- prosecutor's officeCriminal case filing authority
- lead prosecutorAttorney directing the prosecution
prosecutor, prosecution, prosecutors, prosecuted, prosecutable, prosecutes, prosecuting, prosecutions, prosecutorial