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

Nick Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing his parents in their Los Angeles home in the early morning hours of Sunday morning. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Dec. 2025

Jackson famously represented Karen Read, the woman who was accused and acquitted of murdering her boyfriend John O'Keefe. —Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025

Last week, the administration sanctioned six ships accused of carrying oil from Venezuela, along with three nephews of Maduro, two of whom were accused of narcotics trafficking and one of whom worked for the country's state oil company. —Joe Walsh, CBS News, 17 Dec. 2025

Without fail, any corporation accused of conspiring against public health will be compared to Big Tobacco. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 16 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