culpability

noun

cul·​pa·​bil·​i·​ty ˌkəl-pə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

: responsibility for wrongdoing or failure : the quality or state of being culpable

moral/legal/criminal culpability

He refuses to acknowledge his own culpability.

Culpability for our failure to reduce petroleum imports falls across the political spectrum.

—Gregg Easterbrook

Synonyms

• blame
• guilt

Examples of culpability in a Sentence

cannot find culpability where there is neither knowledge that a crime has been committed nor evidence of intent to commit a crime

Recent Examples on the Web

That report blamed OceanGate, with particular culpability placed on OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who perished in the disaster. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025

And defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver revealed Thursday that Fitzpatrick also had culpability on the play. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2025

Others, like Connecticut, combine culpability with parental support programs. —Caitlin Cavanagh, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025

Sam becomes the subject of an intense missing persons investigation and a dead giveaway for Robbie’s culpability should he be discovered by Perry (Jamie McShane), a biker gang member seeking revenge for the crime. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for culpability

• affability
• audibility
• bistability
• capability
• changeability
• contractility
• credibility
• disability
• disutility
• durability
• fallibility
• feasibility