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Synonyms

accuse

American

[uh-kyooz] / əˈkjuz /

verb (used with object)

to charge with the fault, offense, or crime (usually followed byof ).

He accused him of murder.

Synonyms:

impeach, incriminate, indict, arraign

Antonyms:

exonerate
to find fault with; blame.

Antonyms:

exonerate

verb (used without object)

to make an accusation.

accuse British

/ əˈkjuːz /

verb

to charge (a person or persons) with some fault, offence, crime, etc; impute guilt or blame

"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

Usage

What does accuse mean? To accuse someone means to say that they are guilty of a crime or offense. This can happen in everyday situations, such as children accusing each other of not sharing. But accuse is also used in a legal context in the sense of accusing a person of a crime, especially in an official way. Accuse is often followed by the person being accused, the word of, and the specific wrongdoing, as in The teacher accused Ted of cheating. It’s also commonly used in a passive way, as in Ted was accused of cheating. When you accuse someone of something, you’re making an accusation. A person who accuses is called an accuser (especially when the accusation involves a crime). The adjective accused means charged with a crime or other offense. Accused is also used as a noun to refer to a person or people who have been charged with a crime, often as the accused. Statements that suggest or outright say that someone did something wrong can be described as accusatory. Example: If you’re going to accuse them of something that serious, you better have some evidence to back it up.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of accuse

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ac(c)usen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsāre “to call to account,” from ac- ac- + cūs-, combining form of causa “case, reason, sake” ( see cause) + āre, infinitive suffix

Explanation

If you charge someone with misdeeds or misconduct, you accuse that person. If the last piece of devil's food cake is missing, your sister may accuse you of eating it — especially if you have chocolate on your mouth. The verb accuse comes from the Latin word accusare, which itself is formed from the roots ad, meaning toward, and causa, reason or lawsuit. "Cause," "excuse," and even "ruse" are all from that same root word. Today, if you're accused of a crime, you may still be headed toward a lawsuit. However, to accuse someone of a crime doesn't necessarily make them guilty — plenty of people have been falsely accused.

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Vocabulary lists containing accuse

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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:

accuse accuses accused accusing

The practice has alarmed de la Espriella’s political opponents and human-rights groups, who accuse him of displaying the dead as trophies and violating international rules that prohibit desecrating those killed in operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Yet this is the same news release that Ms. Noem used to accuse the men of attempted murder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Some viewers used screenshots of the offer to accuse JapanLA of gouging.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

"Is there confirmed written or verbal evidence... to accuse him?" he asked the court, arguing that prosecutors had failed to produce proof that security officers had received orders from his client.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Well, I didn’t accuse you of being drunk, Jenny.

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Prosecutors will make their opening statements Wednesday in a case that accuses Huawei of systematically stealing trade secrets from American companies and misleading banks about its business in Iran and North Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The complaint accuses Amazon of secretly charging advertisers more in so-called "second price" auctions, whereby prospective advertisers expect to pay one cent more than the next highest bidder for each bid they win.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

A lawsuit filed in federal court on Friday accuses writer and director Taylor Sheridan of stealing the idea for his powerhouse success “Yellowstone” from Lauren J. Salkin, a Virginia-based journalist and screenwriter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

He accuses professional and college associations of being “fixated” on keeping their sports clean, as if that were a bad thing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

And after Jimmy loses six straight hands he comes right out and accuses Mong of cheating.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jacob Coxon -- who resigned from Anthropic and previously worked at OpenAI -- publicly accused both startups of lax security standards and "gambling with our lives."

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

The 1958 Group's allegation, which has been voiced by other fan groups, contradicts United's own comments on Friday that state they did advise fans what they were being accused of.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Drew Findling, also on Banks’ defense team, accused Grant of being a “master of deception” who was determined to get revenge for the death of Bennett, his cousin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Wright, along with Philip Barker, 57, Clive Massey, 64, and Mark Gregory, 63, are accused of conspiracy to defraud the Environment Agency and water regulator Ofwat.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

There were so many people accused of being Reds or Communist sympathizers that the prisons had become overcrowded and they were holding people in the administrative offices.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada died in the Twin Towers, unleashed a stinging attack on Riyadh, accusing it of complicity in the attacks, and denouncing former presidents who were in attendance.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Following O'Leary's comments, the DRCC's chief executive Rachel Morrogh wrote to O'Leary accusing him of trying to get a headline with his comments.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

But talks broke down in dramatic fashion, leaving both sides aggrieved and accusing the other of negotiating in bad faith.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Jane and her siblings took their late father’s side, accusing their mother of being disloyal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

This sometimes took the form of accusing women of practicing witchcraft.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023