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

• charge
• criminate
• defame [archaic]
• impeach
• incriminate
• indict

Examples of accuse in a Sentence

she was accused of lying on the employment application

Recent Examples on the Web

He is accused of using a semiautomatic AR-style rifle to carry out the shooting. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 8 Sep. 2024

Ukrainian officers also accused Russia of using incendiaries in attacks on the city of Bakhmut last year. —Brad Lendon, CNN, 7 Sep. 2024

Sixteen months later, Gray’s 14-year-old son Colt is accused of opening fire at his high school, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others. —Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2024

The movie could be accused of aggressively going for the tear ducts when Coach Williams delivers a box stuffed with fan mail from kids inspired by Anthony’s example, encouraging Judy to read them and giving her credit for raising an exceptional young man. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024

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

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