- present participle of incriminate.
incriminating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something incriminating makes it clear that you're guilty. Incriminating evidence is often enough for police to arrest a suspect. An open cookie jar and crumbs all over your brother's shirt are incriminating enough for your grandma to scold him for sneaking cookies, and a detective will probably consider the fact that a suspect is wearing a watch belonging to a robbery victim to be incriminating evidence. In both cases, the evidence suggests guilt. Incriminating comes from the Latin incriminare, "to incriminate," from in-, "in," and criminare, "to accuse of a crime."
Vocabulary lists containing incriminating
The Westing Game
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Red Kayak
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Bomb
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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.
The vehicle’s registration turned out to be expired, Castronovo said, but the driver was allowed to leave without a citation after the officers searched his vehicle and found nothing incriminating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Their phones were examined, revealing incriminating messages including texts to Young's mother saying he was worried he would be caught.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
“If a police agency can withhold footage that’s incriminating but release footage that’s exculpatory, that isn’t transparency,” he added.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
Stroup said, “It was kind of almost incriminating to be seen walking up there.”
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2025
It’s our current exclusivity, not that multi-species past, that is peculiar—and perhaps incriminating.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
