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

Sanders, in a motion to the court, accused the initial prosecutor in the case, Tony Rackauckas, of manipulating evidence dealing with jailhouse informants. —Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025

Republicans were unfazed by Democrats threatening to withhold their votes, accusing them of hypocrisy for condemning GOP efforts to win policy concessions in past funding battles. —Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2025

London desperately needs that at a time when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his ministers have been accused of harming business sentiment and investment with recent tax rises. —Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025

Ben & Jerry's filed another lawsuit in 2024 accusing Unilever of attempting to silence its support for Palestinian refugees. —Hugh Cameron shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 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