blameworthy
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does blameworthy mean? Blameworthy is used to describe someone or something that deserves to be blamed for something negative that has happened. To blame someone for something is to accuse them of having caused it or to hold them responsible for it. The word blame is always used in the context of something bad that happened—you don’t blame someone for something good. However, when someone is blamed for something, it doesn’t mean they are guilty of it—it simply means they are being accused of being guilty of it. The word blame can also be used as a noun referring to the responsibility for something negative that happened. This is how the word is used in the phrase assign blame. As a noun, blame can also mean the disapproval, condemnation, or criticism for something bad that happened, as in He deserves most of the blame for the loss. Calling a person blameworthy indicates the belief that they are responsible for what happened and that they should receive the criticism for having caused it. The word blameful means the same thing as blameworthy but is less commonly used. Example: Those who participated in the fraud should be held responsible, but those who knew about it and did nothing are also blameworthy.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blameworthy
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at blame, worthy
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.
Some failures will be genuinely hard to foresee, and a standard that treats all harm as blameworthy will simply be ineffective.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Repenters are wracked by "an overwhelming sense of guilt," a hard-to-shake feeling that one is blameworthy for having benefited from historical injustices, and for continuing to benefit from racist systems.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2022
But to be fair, China's not quite as blameworthy as it seems.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2021
The script I have for you, I’m afraid, will help you accept zero amount of blame, because you have done nothing blameworthy.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2018
They give rise to misunderstanding, false ideas, sentiments more or less blameworthy.
From Elements of Morals With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the State by Paul Janet
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.
