Impeach, a verb, is a popular word in politics and public service.
In the US, to impeach is ‘to charge a public office holder with a serious crime, such as fraud’; in British English, it’s ‘to charge someone with treason or another crime against the state’. However, it doesn’t mean the person has been removed from office.
It can also mean ‘to question the validity of a practice’ or ‘cast doubt on someone’s character’.
Examples:
- We had to impeach him for gross misconduct.
- The president was impeached for supporting the invasion of Crystal Island.
- I think we should impeach the immunity clause for governors in Nigeria.
- The lawyer impeached the witness for lying under oath.
From the Latin impedicare, meaning ‘catch, entangle’, the purpose of impeaching someone is to declare them unfit for a position, which might lead to removal. However, not everyone that is impeached is removed from office as appropriate authorities have to find them guilty first.
Other synonyms for impeach include indict, accuse, put on trial, prosecute, incriminate and defame.