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

Weeks after the initial complaint was filed in May, Robinson filed a $500 million cross-complaint that accused the plaintiffs and their legal counsel of defaming him at a press conference. —Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE, 10 Dec. 2025

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday accused Rwanda of violating its commitments to a pact signed just last week in Washington. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 9 Dec. 2025

Lander was later arrested again in September for a similar alleged crime, though this time, he was accused of blocking an entryway to 26 Federal Plaza. —Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 9 Dec. 2025

Everett works too much and is accused of sacrificing his family for his career. —Rachel Handler, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025

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