recriminate

[ ri-krim-uh-neyt ]

See synonyms for recriminate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),re·crim·i·nat·ed, re·crim·i·nat·ing.

to bring a countercharge against an accuser.

verb (used with object),re·crim·i·nat·ed, re·crim·i·nat·ing.

to accuse in return.

Origin of recriminate

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin recrīminātus “accused,” past participle of recrīminārī “to accuse in turn,” from re- re- + crīmin- (stem of crīmen “accusation, blame, charge”; see crime) + -ārī, infinitive verb suffix

Other words from recriminate

re·crim·i·na·tion, noun
re·crim·i·na·tive, re·crim·i·na·to·ry [ri-krim-uh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /rɪˈkrɪm ə nəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
re·crim·i·na·tor, noun
un·re·crim·i·na·tive, adjective

Words Nearby recriminate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use recriminate in a sentence

At first, I brought those compulsive and self-recriminating habits to my time outside.
How Nature Helped Me Recover from an Eating Disorder | Kate Siber | March 25, 2021 | Outside Online
Experience informs us,” as Coleridge says, “that the first defence of weak minds is to recriminate.
The Art of Letters | Robert Lynd
They first began to fret and pine, then to murmur, and finally to recriminate.
Phelim O'toole's Courtship and Other Stories | William Carleton
What a common dictate of the fallen and regenerate heart to resent and recriminate!
The Mind of Jesus | John R. Macduff
Bernard does not recriminate or argue in it; his love shall bring the young monk back to him.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II) | Henry Osborn Taylor

But let us not recriminate; that matter is not in question now.
Paul and His Dog, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XIII) | Charles Paul de Kock

British Dictionary definitions for recriminate

recriminate

/ (rɪˈkrɪmɪˌneɪt) /

verb

(intr) to return an accusation against someone or engage in mutual accusations

Origin of recriminate

C17: from Medieval Latin recrīmināre, from Latin crīminārī to accuse, from crīmen an accusation; see crime

Derived forms of recriminate

recriminative or recriminatory, adjective
recriminator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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