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

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

The aversion to speaking of death is compounded by collective culpability. —Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025

Nevertheless, no substantial evidence has ever proved Gein’s culpability. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025

Khan, who led the agency in bringing the lawsuit against Amazon, suggested that the FTC had absolved the company of its full culpability by agreeing to settle. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 26 Sep. 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