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

Partly to avoid culpability at home and abroad, Jefferson pressed charges against Ogden and Smith. — Lindsay Schakenbach Regele, The Conversation, 13 July 2026

Shared culpability The Platner campaign represented an electoral insurgency against the Democratic Party; now, there are going to be furious recriminations against those who launched it. — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 7 July 2026

An assist, a breathtaking last-gasp clearance, and some culpability in the Canadian equalizer. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 12 June 2026

Then, during the criminal proceedings, he was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, leaving his culpability in doubt. — Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 11 June 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