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

But Steering was not accused of contempt until CNN began reporting its story, after the other media reports had been published. —Rachel Clarke, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024

These groups have long launched similar critiques, accusing his keys of being based on the opinions of the person deploying the model instead of static markers. —Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 22 Sep. 2024

The students, who were 10 and 11 years old, are accused of making threats against school employees and students, according to a news release from Bryant police. —Amir Mahmoud, arkansasonline.com, 21 Sep. 2024

Nance is accused of lying twice on separate occasions while under oath, according to the complaint. —Staff, Detroit Free Press, 21 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