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

The trial of Richard Allen continues this week in Delphi, Indiana. Allen, 52, is accused of killing two teens who went missing Feb. 13, 2017, and were found dead the next day. —Ron Wilkins, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Oct. 2024

As cameras recorded the event, Dunn accused Gallego's opponent, Kari Lake, of perpetuating the type of election denialism that gave rise to the Capitol siege. —Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 29 Oct. 2024

Trump and Vance have accused Harris of taking more pages from their playbook by proposing a similar child tax credit and for her stance on steel policy by opposing the sale of U.S. Steel, a domestic steel producer, to Japan’s Nippon Steel. —Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 Oct. 2024

Republican lawmakers have accused the center of surveilling and censoring Americans. —David Shedd, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 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