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
• fault
• guilt
• onus
• rap

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above