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

Since first taking place in the 1940s, cloud seeding experiments have raised concern over potential environmental and ecological risks and stoked regional security tensions, with countries accusing each other of stealing rain. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán doubled down Monday on an unsubstantiated claim that Ukraine is deliberately holding back shipments of Russian oil, and accused Kyiv of seeking to topple his government. —Sam McNeil, Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026

Ukraine claims Russian drone attacks damaged the Druzhba pipeline; Hungary accuses it of deliberately withholding oil to pressure Central European nations. —Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026

Allred and Johnson have sparred over ethics and policy, with Allred targeting her stock trades and voting record, and Johnson defending her financial disclosures and accusing him of undermining her leadership. —Gromer Jeffers Jr, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 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