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accused 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of accusednext
as in indicted

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accused

2 of 3

noun

as in defendant

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Dissimilar Words

accused

3 of 3

verb

past tense of accuse
as in charged
to make a claim of wrongdoing against she was accused of lying on the employment application

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of accused
Verb
Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of seeking to build an alliance with neighboring Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia. — Samuel Getachew, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026 He also is accused of carrying out a military expedition and illegally shipping bullet-proof vests to Haiti. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026 Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran while portraying his country as the victim of aggression. — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Caleb, whose murder trial is now underway, is accused of killing her and staging the scene to look like a burglary. — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 Now the former child phenom is accused of picking up a permanent marker and scrawling antisemitic graffiti on Southern California homes, according to authorities. — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 Leo won't get a glimpse of the mosaics by an ex-Jesuit artist accused of abusing women adorning the façade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. — ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026 Unable to picture evil as anything other than devilish, critics accused Arendt of excusing the perpetrators and blaming the victims. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026 Season 4 tells the story of Lizzie Borden (Ella Beatty), who was accused of brutally murdering her father, Andrew Borden (Charlie Hunnam), and stepmother, Abby Borden (Rebecca Hall), in 1892. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 17 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accused
  1. indicted
  2. defendant
  3. charged
  4. culpable
  5. suspect
  6. blamed
  7. guilty
  8. offender
Adjective
  • Jim Trusty, the lawyer for Rozier, excoriated the league after a hearing Wednesday that served as a status update on Rozier’s case, as well as the other three defendants who remain indicted alongside him.
    — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • The conservative-leaning New York Post has also reported Wahhaj was listed as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
Definition of indicted
Noun
  • The Federal Defender Program represents defendants who cannot afford a lawyer.
    — Reed Williams, AJC.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Requests for comment were sent to the departments named as defendants in the wide-ranging lawsuit.
    — Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of defendant
Verb
  • The driver, identified as 54-year-old Robert Delorenzo of Stratford, was arrested and charged with reckless driving, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and failure to stop on the right side of the road.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
  • She is charged with misdemeanor filing a false report to police, an arrest warrant says.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of charged
Adjective
  • Police opened a culpable homicide case, and the cause of the collision remained under investigation, Spies said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The attorney represented Jennifer McCabe in 2023, when Read’s defense began claiming that the Canton woman was partly culpable for O’Keefe’s death.
    — Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of culpable
Noun
  • Cleburne police have filed additional charges in connection with an August pursuit that ended with an officer wounded and a suspect killed, officials said Saturday.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Police had not released information about a suspect as of that time.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of suspect
Verb
  • Al-Hindi said his group, along with Hamas, had agreed to the plan and blamed Israel for blocking it.
    — Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Some food safety scientists blamed the outbreaks on federal cuts to public health.
    — Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of blamed
Adjective
  • Smith accepted a deal from prosecutors in March, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, of Orlando Florida, has pleaded not guilty to trying to murder the singing superstar, plus more than a dozen other felony charges stemming from the shooting in March.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of guilty
Noun
  • The law would extend the time that repeat DUI offenders would have their driver’s license suspended from three years to six years.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • More often than not, this audit finds the larger offenders causing the retention problem.
    — Kellie Lauth, Forbes.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of offender

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Cite this Entry

“Accused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accused. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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