accuse

verb

ac·​cuse ə-ˈkyüz 

accused; accusing

transitive verb

1

: to charge with a fault or offense : blame

He accused her of being disloyal.

2

: to charge with an offense judicially or by a public process

He was accused of murder.

intransitive verb

: to bring an accusation

accuser

ə-ˈkyü-zər 

noun

Synonyms of accuse

• indict
• blame
• charge
• sue
• prosecute

Examples of accuse in a Sentence

she was accused of lying on the employment application

Recent Examples on the Web

Walsh was joined by Sean Davis, Saagar Enjeti, and other conservative commentators who spent the day accusing the administration of bungling its messaging on the conflict. —David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 3 Mar. 2026

Even after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in 2024, the Israeli military has been striking Lebanon on a near-daily basis, accusing Hezbollah of violating the agreement by rearming and rebuilding its forces. —Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 2 Mar. 2026

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of providing a safe haven within Afghanistan for the TTP, an accusation that Afghanistan denies. —Abdul Qahar Afghan, Arkansas Online, 2 Mar. 2026

In 2018, the country passed a law that outlawed accusing Poland or the Polish people of complicity in Nazi crimes. —Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acusen, accusen, borrowed from Anglo-French accuser, acuser, borrowed from Latin accūsāre "to blame, censure, charge with a crime," from ad- ad- + -cūsāre, verbal derivative of causa "legal case, reason, cause" — more at cause entry 1

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for accuse

• accrues
• aircrews
• amuse
• bamboos
• breakthroughs
• canoes
• cashews
• chartreuse
• confuse
• construes
• defuse
• ensues

Kids Definition

accuse

verb

ac·​cuse ə-ˈkyüz 

accused; accusing

: to blame for wrongdoing : to charge with a fault and especially with a crime

accuser noun

accusingly

-ˈkyü-ziŋ-lē 

adverb

Legal Definition

accuse

verb

ac·​cuse

accused; accusing

transitive verb

: to charge with an offense judicially or by a public process compare indict

intransitive verb

: to make or bring an accusation

accuser noun

Etymology

Latin accusare to find fault with, charge with a crime, from ad to, at + causa legal case, trial