blame

[ bleym ]

See synonyms for: blame blamed blaming blamer on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),blamed, blam·ing.

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 by on): I blame the accident on her.

Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse): Blame the rotten luck.

noun

an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof: The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.
responsibility for anything deserving of censure: We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.

Idioms about blame

to blame, at fault; censurable: I am to blame for his lateness.

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

synonym study For blame

1, 2. 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.

usage note For blame

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.

Other words for blame

1, 2	reproach, reprove, reprehend, criticize
4	reprehension, condemnation, stricture, reproach, animadversion
5	guilt, culpability, fault, sin

See synonyms for blame on Thesaurus.com

Other words from blame

blamer, noun
o·ver·blame, verb (used with object), o·ver·blamed, o·ver·blam·ing.
self-blame, noun
un·blam·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with blame

blame , censure, condemn (see synonym study at the current entry)

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

How to use blame in a sentence

One wrong reaction is enough to cause a silence and self-blame that can last for years.
‘Brave Miss World’: Linor Abargil on Her Journey From Rape Victim to Beauty Queen to Activist | Linor Abargil | May 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She had added to her own difficulties by this present absconding, and, with severe self-blame, resolved to descend to tea.
Camilla | Fanny Burney
I do not think you have cause for self-blame at all, but, on the contrary, have for self-approval.
A Prince of Anahuac | James A. Porter
In her self-blame she wrote to her brother to confess how she had failed in her duty toward the boy.
True to His Home | Hezekiah Butterworth
It was some time before Lady Charlton could be brought to believe it all, and then at first she was overwhelmed with self-blame.
Great Possessions | Mrs. Wilfrid Ward

Ridge shook his head, not in doubt of his comrade's ability, but in self-blame.
The Red River Half-Breed | Gustave Aimard

British Dictionary definitions for blame

blame

/ (bleɪm) /

noun

responsibility for something that is wrong or deserving censure; culpability
an expression of condemnation; reproof

be to blame to be at fault or culpable

verb(tr)

(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

Origin of blame

C12: from Old French blasmer, ultimately from Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme

Derived forms of blame

blamable or blameable, adjective
blamably or blameably, adverb

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 Idioms and Phrases with blame

blame

see lay (the blame) on; to blame.

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