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

It was blamed for two deaths, including a 74-year-old man found Wednesday near Kauai's south shore and a man found dead Monday on Oahu after a large tree fell on his tent. — Gene Johnson, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026

Looming over it all is billionaire Matthew Prince, a Park City resident who had expressed frustrations with how Vail Resorts has operated its Park City property, blaming Vail CEO Rob Katz for the company’s financial troubles. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Noun

The fungibility of the hands is a reprieve from the book’s scenes of violence and its fallout, from the endless assigning of blame and the apportioning out of mercy or destruction. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

While Spain’s political parties debated how much of the blame belonged to the grid operator or renewables or other factors, the coalition government, with its tiny majority, could not afford another similar hit to the grid. — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2026