Synonyms of blame

blame 1 of 2

verb

ˈblām 

as in to criticize

to express one's unfavorable opinion of the worth or quality of

more concerned with pleasing audiences, the playwright has always claimed to be indifferent to whether critics praise his comedies or blame them without mercy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• criticize
• fault
• condemn
• denounce
• knock
• attack
• find fault (with)
• censure
• tweak
• deplore
• complain
• slam
• pan
• slag
• dispraise
• slash
• reprehend
• kick
• lash
• dis
• come down hard (on)
• take to task
• blast
• admonish
• whine
• grumble
• chide
• scold
• nick (at)
• assail
• bitch
• moan
• gripe
• beef
• mutter
• crucify
• berate
• murmur
• snipe (at)
• clobber
• grouse
• skewer
• excoriate
• quibble
• cavil
• reprimand
• upbraid
• decry
• disparage
• rebuke
• deride
• reproach
• castigate
• bellyache
• belittle
• kvetch
• growl
• carp
• reprove
• crab
• bad-mouth
• flay
• hammer
• pillory
• niggle
• discommend
• fuss
• lambaste
• keelhaul
• croak
• drub
• put down
• gibbet

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• praise
• approve
• recommend
• commend
• endorse
• extol
• laud
• sanction

blame

2 of 2

noun

1

as in guilt

responsibility for wrongdoing or failure

willingly accepted the blame for not seeing that the kitchen was properly cleaned

Synonyms & Similar Words

• guilt
• fault
• culpability
• accusation
• onus
• sinfulness
• regret
• rap
• condemnation
• complicity
• censure
• shame
• remorse
• blameworthiness
• denunciation
• finger-pointing
• guiltiness
• reproach
• self-reproach

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• blamelessness
• innocence
• guiltlessness
• faultlessness

2

as in responsibility

the state of being held as the cause of something that needs to be set right

blame for the school's poor performance in standardized tests was attributed to several factors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• responsibility
• fault
• liability
• accountability
• answerability

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of blame

Verb

Time will tell whether this threat was real, but who could blame Griffin for reconsidering? —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026

The large-scale return of the supposedly canceled can’t be blamed on collective amnesia, or even a public that clings to plausible deniability. —Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026

Noun

Rather than confronting structural inequities in education, employment, and housing, policymakers turned to fertility as a point of intervention, shifting blame for poverty away from social conditions and onto people’s reproductive behaviors. —Sonya Borrero, STAT, 1 May 2026

Part of the blame may be shared with the legacy stock agencies’ older collections. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026