incriminate

verb

in·​crim·​i·​nate in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt 

incriminated; incriminating

transitive verb

: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault

incrimination

in-ˌkri-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

incriminatory

in-ˈkri-mə-nə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-ˈkrim-nə-

adjective

Did you know?

Testimony may incriminate a suspect by placing him at the scene of a crime, and incriminating evidence is the kind that strongly links him to it. But the word doesn't always refer to an actual crime. We can say, for instance, that a virus has been incriminated as the cause of a type of cancer, or that video games have been incriminated in the decline in study skills among young people.

Synonyms

• accuse
• charge
• criminate
• defame [archaic]
• impeach
• indict

Examples of incriminate in a Sentence

Material found at the crime scene incriminates the defendant.

in exchange for a reduced sentence, the thief agreed to incriminate his accomplice

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the search turned up nothing—Katarina had already disposed of anything that could incriminate her son. —Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 16 May 2025

Authorities found loads of incriminating evidence after executing search warrants on his trailer and hotel room. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2025

How, exactly, Joe could release this footage without incriminating himself is not totally clear to me, but Maddie agrees to help him out in exchange for having the video destroyed. —Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025

One of them is to perhaps record incriminating evidence against the bad guys. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin incriminatus, past participle of incriminare, from Latin in- + crimin-, crimen crime

First Known Use

circa 1736, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incriminate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

incriminate

verb

in·​crim·​i·​nate in-ˈkrim-ə-ˌnāt 

incriminated; incriminating

1

: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault : accuse

2

: to cause to appear guilty of or responsible for something

evidence that tends to incriminate the defendant

incrimination

(ˌ)in-ˌkrim-ə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

incriminatory

in-ˈkrim-(ə-)nə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

adjective

Legal Definition

incriminate

transitive verb

in·​crim·​i·​nate in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt 

incriminated; incriminating

1

: to charge with involvement in a crime

he was incriminated in the conspiracy

2

: to suggest or show involvement of in a crime

among the evidence that incriminated him was a box of trigger devices

see also self-incrimination

incrimination

in-ˌkri-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

incriminatory

in-ˈkri-mə-nə-ˌtōr-ē 

adjective