noun
-
an allegation that a person is guilty of some fault, offence, or crime; imputation
-
a formal charge brought against a person stating the crime that he is alleged to have committed
Usage
What does accusation mean? An accusation is a claim that someone is guilty of a crime or offense. To make an accusation is to accuse someone. This can happen in everyday situations, such as children accusing each other of not sharing. But accusation is typically used in a legal context to refer to an official claim or charge that a crime has been committed. A person who makes an accusation (who accuses) is called an accuser (especially when the accusation involves a crime). The adjective accused means charged with a crime or other offense. Accused is also used as a noun to refer to a person or people who have been charged with a crime, often as the accused. Statements that suggest or outright say that someone did something wrong can be described as accusatory. Example: If you’re going to make an accusation that serious, you’d better have some evidence to back it up.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of accusation
1350–1400; Middle English accusacion < Latin accūsātiōn- (stem of accūsātiō ), equivalent to accūsāt ( us ), past participle of accūsāre ( see accuse, -ate 1) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
When you say someone is guilty of doing something wrong you make an accusation, like your accusation that your brother used your computer without asking first. Accusation comes from the verb accuse, which means to charge someone with a crime. It is important to remember that an accusation comes about when someone thinks another person has done something wrong or committed a crime. It doesn't mean, however, that the person is guilty. There needs to be proof — an investigation or trial, even admission of guilt — before a conviction, meaning the person really is guilty.
Vocabulary lists containing accusation
The Bill of Rights
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Wasn't Me: The Lingo of Laying Blame
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The same accusation was leveled at Anthropic when it held back the public release of its powerful Mythos model over cybersecurity concerns.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
“The accusation is absurd,” said Jean-Philippe Kohl, deputy director and head of economic policy at Swissmem, an industry trade body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
But the accusation included in a story on Monday in Politico led to the almost instant downfall of his campaign.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The accusation, published in Politico on Monday, proved to be one crisis too many for the scandal-plagued candidate.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
My sister delivers the last sentence as an accusation, like Dad is somehow responsible for this mess.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
In June 2025, weekly newsletter Air Mail published accusations of impropriety against Leto by nine women, which he denied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
China says the accusations that it is singling out Panamanian ships for special attention are wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Renault will face a criminal trial in France on aggravated fraud charges over accusations that devices in its diesel cars were designed to cheat clean air laws, the public prosecutor's office told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Wait, so you all covered the accusations for months.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Even though I did not believe these accusations, I did not want to be seen with her.
From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
