accuse

[ uh-kyooz ]

verb (used with object)

, ac·cused, ac·cus·ing.

1. to charge with the fault, offense, or crime (usually followed by of ):

   He accused him of murder.

   Synonyms: impeach, incriminate, indict, arraign

   Antonyms: exonerate

2. to find fault with; blame.

   Antonyms: exonerate

verb (used without object)

, ac·cused, ac·cus·ing.

1. to make an accusation.

accuse

/ əˈkjuːz /

verb

1. to charge (a person or persons) with some fault, offence, crime, etc; impute guilt or blame

Derived Forms

• acˈcuser, noun
• acˈcusingly, adverb
• acˈcusing, adjective

Other Words From

• ac·cusa·ble adjective
• ac·cusa·bly adverb
• ac·cusant noun
• ac·cusing·ly adverb
• inter·ac·cuse verb (used with object) interaccused interaccusing
• nonac·cusing adjective
• preac·cuse verb (used with object) preaccused preaccusing
• reac·cuse verb (used with object) reaccused reaccusing
• self-ac·cusing adjective
• unac·cusa·ble adjective
• unac·cusing adjective
• unac·cusing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of accuse¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ac(c)usen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsāre “to call to account,” from ac- ac- + cūs-, combining form of causa “case, reason, sake” ( cause ) + āre, infinitive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of accuse¹

C13: via Old French from Latin accūsāre to call to account, from ad- to + causa lawsuit

Example Sentences

Last week, Daniel Prude’s sister, Tashyra Prude, filed a lawsuit against Rochester, Singletary and 13 other officers, accusing the defendants of a coverup of her brother’s death.

From Essence.com

He accused career, nonpolitical prosecutors of “headhunting” high-profile targets and asserted there was danger in letting them drive decisions.

From Washington Post

On Wednesday, Johnson accused the EU of acting in bad faith during their wider trade negotiations.

From Fortune

Hindenburg has accused Nikola, which went public via merger with a SPAC earlier this year, of misleading investors over the progress of its technology.

From Fortune

He accused Boeing and the FAA of withholding information from the families of victims in an emailed statement.

From Fortune

There are those who accuse their games of not really being video games at all, which is ludicrous.

From The Daily Beast

Certainly sounds like something people would accuse a king of doing.

From The Daily Beast

To accuse him of doing so is certainly an effective way to end a conversation.

From The Daily Beast

U.S. intelligence agencies accuse the Khorasan veterans of plotting attacks against commercial airliners in the West.

From The Daily Beast

And he says that those who accuse Napoleon of killing off democracy misunderstand politics in 19th century Europe.

From The Daily Beast

Could he be conscious of all this, and not excuse the unsteady youth—accuse himself?

From Project Gutenberg

He was the last man in the world to accuse of saying or doing anything merely for the sake of effect.

From Project Gutenberg

The blind man, missing his money, suspected who was the thief; but to accuse him would serve no purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

Apart from the general charge of being successful—whatever that amounts to—you accuse me of two things.

From Project Gutenberg

It required peculiar boldness, at that hour, to accuse Robespierre and Danton of crime.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• allege
• arraign
• arrest
• attack
• blame
• brand
• charge
• cite
• complain
• denounce
• implicate
• indict
• name
• prosecute
• sue
• summon

More About Accuse

What does accuse mean?

To accuse someone means to say that they are guilty of a crime or offense.

This can happen in everyday situations, such as children accusing each other of not sharing. But accuse is also used in a legal context in the sense of accusing a person of a crime, especially in an official way.

Accuse is often followed by the person being accused, the word of, and the specific wrongdoing, as in The teacher accused Ted of cheating. 

It’s also commonly used in a passive way, as in Ted was accused of cheating. 

When you accuse someone of something, you’re making an accusation. A person 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 accuse them of something that serious, you better have some evidence to back it up.

Where does accuse come from?

The first records of the word accuse come from the second half of the 1200s. It ultimately derives from the Latin accūsāre, meaning “to call to account,” from causa, “lawsuit.”

You might accuse your family members of not listening to you, or accuse one of them of eating the last muffin (when you specifically said you were saving it!). But some accusations are more serious than others.

Accusing someone of a crime is a serious thing to do. Even if they are not found guilty, having been accused may permanently hurt their reputation. Still, just because someone is accused (or charged and indicted) doesn’t mean that they are automatically found guilty of the crime they are suspected of committing (to falsely accuse someone is to lie and claim they did something when you know they didn’t). In most court systems, the accusation (and the guilt of the person) needs to be proven. And, in many cases, the accused has the right to face their accuser in court. Still, the word accuse typically implies that the accuser has firsthand knowledge or evidence of the crime that they claim was committed.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to accuse?

• accused (past tense verb, adjective)
• accusation (noun)
• accuser (noun)
• accusatory (adjective)
• accusatorial (adjective)
• accusal (noun)
• accusable (adjective)
• accusably (adverb)
• accusant (noun)
• accusingly (adverb)

What are some synonyms for accuse?

• arraign
• indict
• incriminate
• impeach

What are some words that share a root or word element with accuse? 

• cause

What are some words that often get used in discussing accuse?

• crime
• claim
• falsely
• wrongdoing
• offense
• mistake
• allege
• charge

How is accuse used in real life?

Accuse is used in serious and not-so-serious ways, but it always involves claiming that someone did something wrong.

Yeah. The first thing racists do when they are caught being racist is accuse the person of color who perceives the racism of being unfair or overly sensitive. Unfortunately, other people with questionable views on race will find this bogusness quite persuasive. https://t.co/in6p8f34bC

— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) May 14, 2020

A Baltimore city police sergeant has been accused of kidnapping a man in order to get a refund on a home improvement project. https://t.co/F4CHSQerNj

— WTOP (@WTOP) July 10, 2020

please don’t accuse me of having an attitude that i DON’T have. nothing that irritates me more than being accused of something not true😂

— jor 🧚🏽 (@joordynxoxo) July 8, 2020

 

 

Try using accuse!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of accuse?

A. charge
B. indict
C. acquit
D. incriminate