culpability

American  

[kuhl-puh-bil-i-tee] / ˌkʌl pəˈbɪl ɪ ti /

Sometimes culpableness

noun

1. guilt or blame that is deserved; blameworthiness.

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Usage

What does culpability mean? Culpability is the quality of being culpable—deserving blame for a crime or wrongdoing. When someone is described as culpable for something, it means it’s their fault or that they are guilty of it. Culpability is the guilt or blame that a person deserves. The words culpable and culpability are typically used in serious legal contexts involving crimes. Example: It’s the job of a jury to assign or reject culpability for a crime.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonculpability
  noun

Etymology

Origin of culpability

culpabl(e) + -ity

Explanation

Culpability is a state of guilt or responsibility. A lot of lawsuits are about who has culpability for something that went wrong. Culpability is a fancy-sounding word, but it's a simple concept: guilt. You have culpability if you're responsible for something, usually something bad. If you left the door open and your house was robbed, you have some culpability (not as much as the robber, though). If a store owner doesn't salt the ice on the sidewalk and you slip, he has some culpability if you get injured. Figuring out culpability is about figuring out who's to blame.

Related Words

• accountability
• guilt