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
  • He was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 17 years to life with the possibility of parole.
    Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
  • Austin ultimately pleaded guilty to 15 counts related to both cases in October 2013, just two days before his murder trial was scheduled to start, NBC News reported.
    Nicole Acosta, People.com, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the crash regarding possible charges of manslaughter and culpable disaster.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Oswald was found to be the sole person culpable for Kennedy's death on November 22, 1963, by the Warren Commission in 1964.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Of the $15 million that the jury awarded Depp, $5 million was in punitive damages aimed to punish Heard for especially reprehensible conduct.
    Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 19 Apr. 2025
  • Whereas Serena could easily have emerged as a one-note villain, from the beginning of her tenure on the series, Strahovski has imbued Serena with a soulfulness that often puts the audience uncomfortably on her side, despite her reprehensible actions.
    Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Youngest brother Dante is reckless and indebted to dangerous criminals.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 15 May 2025
  • On Sunday, officers arrested the suspect in South San Francisco and booked him into San Mateo County jail on charges of hit-and-run causing injury and reckless evading.
    Jason Green, Mercury News, 14 May 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 20 May. 2025.

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