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Synonyms

recriminate

American  
[ri-krim-uh-neyt] / rɪˈkrɪm əˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

recriminated, recriminating
  1. to bring a countercharge against an accuser.


verb (used with object)

recriminated, recriminating
  1. to accuse in return.

recriminate British  
/ rɪˈkrɪmɪˌneɪt /

verb

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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • recrimination noun
  • recriminative adjective
  • recriminator noun
  • recriminatory adjective
  • unrecriminative adjective

Etymology

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”; crime ) + -ārī, infinitive verb suffix

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.

“I do not condemn, I do not recriminate, and I do not criticize Minister Mandetta,” Bolsonaro told reporters at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia.

From Washington Post • Apr. 16, 2020

At the beginning of the "Fifth Night" we find:— "Lorenzo, to recriminate is just, I grant the man is vain who writes for praise."

From Johnson's Lives of the Poets — Volume 2 by Johnson, Samuel

But this is all past, let us not recriminate.

From Paris under the Commune The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs) by Leighton, John

May not we have leave to recriminate in this place?

From The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campell A Gentlen, who, tho' Deaf and Dumb, Writes down any Stranger's name at first Sight; by Defoe, Daniel

What a common dictate of the fallen and regenerate heart to resent and recriminate!

From The Mind of Jesus by Macduff, John R. (John Ross)