blame
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to hold responsible; find fault with; censure.
I don't blame you for leaving him.
-
to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed byon ).
I blame the accident on her.
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Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse).
Blame the rotten luck.
noun
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an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof.
The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.
- Synonyms:
- animadversion, reproach, stricture, condemnation, reprehension
-
responsibility for anything deserving of censure.
We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.
- Synonyms:
- sin, fault, culpability, guilt
idioms
noun
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responsibility for something that is wrong or deserving censure; culpability
-
an expression of condemnation; reproof
-
to be at fault or culpable
verb
-
(usually foll by for) to attribute responsibility to; accuse
I blame him for the failure
-
(usually foll by on) to ascribe responsibility for (something) to
I blame the failure on him
-
to find fault with
Usage
Some speakers avoid blame on as informal ( He blamed the fight on me ), preferring blame alone ( He blamed me ) or blame for ( He blamed me for it ). Since all three forms occur with equal frequency in educated usage, they may all be considered equally acceptable.
Synonym Usage
Blame, censure, condemn imply finding fault with someone or something. To blame is to hold accountable for, and disapprove because of, some error, mistake, omission, neglect, or the like: Whom do you blame for the disaster? The verb censure differs from the noun in connoting scolding or rebuking even more than adverse criticism: to censure one for extravagance. To condemn is to express an adverse (especially legal) judgment, without recourse: to condemn conduct, a building, a person to death.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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blamernoun
-
self-blamenoun
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overblameverb (used with object)
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blamableadjective
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unblamingadjective
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blamablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blamesimple
-
blamessimple
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have blamedperfect
-
has blamedperfect
-
am blamingprogressive
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are blamingprogressive
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is blamingprogressive
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have been blamingperfect progressive
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has been blamingperfect progressive
Past
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blamedsimple
-
had blamedperfect
-
was blamingprogressive
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were blamingprogressive
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had been blamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blame
First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English blamen, from Anglo-French, Old French blasmer, from Vulgar Latin blastēmāre (unrecorded), from Late Latin blasphēmāre “to speak irreverently, profanely” ( see blaspheme); noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
Blame is about being responsible for something that's bad or has gone wrong. If you have a headache, you might blame it on the heat, or on not getting enough sleep. A person can be to blame for something. Your mom might walk into the house, see a broken lamp and blame you. Often, in official contexts, blame is "assigned" or "placed." A common complaint among younger siblings is, "Why do I always get blamed for everything?"
Vocabulary lists containing blame
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Jacket"
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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:
Although it’s his version of normal, Randolph said he wouldn’t blame the boy if Carter curled up in a ball and sulked about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
This comment seems designed to set the blame for any tightening on other Fed members.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
You can’t really blame them if their response to the self-absorbed internal monologues of an unreliable narrator is, Oh, boo hoo.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Calling it swinging implies consent, and therefore puts the blame at the feet of the women, and that makes it silencing for those women."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Louella refused to believe this and you couldn’t blame her.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
Judge blames bond-market turmoil and rising interest rates, which hit leveraged bond funds and drove away many private investors.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
He has a facial tic that he blames on his concussions and a limp stemming from back problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
He blames the purchase price of milk, which is too low, and subsidies that are too small and mostly benefit large grain producers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
He blames shrinking tree cover, extensive mining, rising fossil-fuel use and the spread of air-conditioning.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
My mother blames our bad behavior on the divorce and my dad.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
Regulators have blamed leveraged products for amplifying volatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The state-run insurer that covers healthcare for workers, Comwel, blamed his death on overwork following an investigation.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
It also blamed weaker Easter demand and a drop in tourism from Asia and the Middle East "due to geopolitical uncertainties".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was blamed in part on the building’s highly flammable cladding and lack of alarms, sprinklers and a fire escape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
And when Jackie’s sixteen-game hitting streak ended, Shirley blamed herself.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
The New York magazine story indicated that Harris was blaming political consultants for her loss in 2024.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Today, large guitarfish have almost vanished, he said, blaming pollution, changing fishing practices and climate change.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
She is defending her interactions with him and is blaming Goldman executives for leaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The reader felt his brother got the short end of the stick, but he did not appear to be blaming anyone except fate itself.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
All along I had been blaming Trotter, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to admit that it really was my fault, too, for going along with him.
From "Doing Time Online" by Jan Siebold
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.
