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 of culpability

• 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

Students and activists protested the funding structure, accusing ExxonMobil of retracing the path of tobacco companies, which paid for scientific work on obscure causes of cancer as a distraction from their culpability. — Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026

Tamara Le Ann Wallace wore a dark blazer and jeans, her shoulder-length hair adorned with light blue dye on the tips, standing straight and using a loud, firm voice to declare her culpability in federal court in Sacramento. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2026

The king’s Caribbean visit is an occasion to recognize the full story of Britain’s trafficking and enslavement of millions of Africans across the Atlantic – and the Crown’s direct culpability. — Brooke N. Newman, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026

Her culpability doesn’t erase her victimhood, nor does her victimhood absolve her. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Oct. 2026

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