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

• 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

Prosecutors accuse Kim of orchestrating on-market purchases to drive SM’s share price above HYBE’s public offer, with Kakao Corp and its subsidiaries ultimately becoming the majority stakeholder. —Jeff Benjamin, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

The commission has not accused Hartig of being currently mentally unable to perform her duties. —Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2025

In a new court filing, federal prosecutors have accused Luigi Mangione of inspiring others to violence, including the gunman responsible for last month's deadly shooting at the National Football League (NFL) headquarters in Manhattan. —Emma Marsden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025

An Enquirer investigation found that for the first half of 2025, around 43% of people detained for ICE were only accused of a civil immigration violation. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 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