Synonym Chooser

How is the word blamable different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of blamable are blameworthy, culpable, and guilty. While all these words mean "deserving reproach or punishment," blameworthy and blamable apply to any degree of reprehensibility.

conduct adjudged blameworthy
an accident for which no one is blamable

When could culpable be used to replace blamable?

While the synonyms culpable and blamable are close in meaning, culpable is weaker than guilty and is likely to connote malfeasance or errors of ignorance, omission, or negligence.

culpable neglect

When would guilty be a good substitute for blamable?

The words guilty and blamable are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, guilty implies responsibility for or consciousness of crime, sin, or, at the least, grave error or misdoing.

guilty of a breach of etiquette

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blamable
Adjective
  • Haddix previously pleaded guilty to two felony counts of perjury and one felony count of obstruction of justice, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2025
  • The teen, 17, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to court documents.
    Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • His Stoic Challenge framework invites you to see a setback not as something terrible, blameworthy or unfair but instead as a test of your ingenuity and resilience.
    Hanna Hart, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • But Miss Manners acknowledges that there is also the less blameworthy impulse to offer comfort — not just sympathy — when there is no real comfort to be offered.
    Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Soto’s defensive struggles contribute to their 108.4 fly ball multiplier, while 1B Pete Alonso and 3B Mark Vientos are chiefly culpable for their 123.2 grounder multiplier.
    Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
  • No one seems to know what happened, or if Jeremy is culpable in some way, and intense scrutiny falls on Jeremy’s latest protégée, 15-year-old Julie.
    Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • Such actions — violently detaining a child just outside a public school — are absolutely reprehensible and should have no place in our country.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Such actions are not only disgraceful but reprehensible.
    Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
Adjective
  • The filmmakers never judge Lynette as her actions grow more reckless, even when she’s forced to pick up Kenny and take him along on a series of dangerous encounters.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
  • As the federal government continues to play with reckless and unauthorized tariffs that have burdened businesses with skyrocketing costs that have been passed along to consumers, the governor’s Affordability Agenda is centered around making life easier for New Yorkers.
    Walter Mosley, New York Daily News, 11 Aug. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Blamable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blamable. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.

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