split decisions
Choices that fracture
A split decision is a verdict or outcome reached without unanimous agreement, where judges or decision-makers divide their votes.
The term comes from boxing and mixed martial arts, where a fighter wins by convincing only a majority of judges rather than all of them.
More broadly, it describes any choice made under divided opinion: The court's split decision left both sides partially satisfied.
The phrase emphasizes that reasonable people disagreed about the outcome.
- majorityOver half of total
- scorecardsForms for recording results
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- razor thinExtremely narrow margin
- dividedSeparated into portions
judgment · verdict · hung jury · outcome · ruling · deadlock · tie · boxing · title fight · going the distance · mistrial · rounds · bell · tension · binding arbitration · point · jury deliberation · reasonable doubt
split decisionsknockouts
Wins by incapacitation
technical knockouts · TKOs · stoppages · submissions · finishes
split decisionsunanimity
Complete group agreement
consensus · solidarity · accord · unity
split, decision, splits, splitting, splitter, decisions, decide, decisive, decisively