culpability 1 of 2

as in blame
responsibility for wrongdoing or failure cannot find culpability where there is neither knowledge that a crime has been committed nor evidence of intent to commit a crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

culpable

2 of 2

adjective

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of culpable are blamable, blameworthy, and guilty. While all these words mean "deserving reproach or punishment," culpable is weaker than guilty and is likely to connote malfeasance or errors of ignorance, omission, or negligence.

culpable neglect

How are the words blameworthy and blamable related as synonyms of culpable?

Both blameworthy and blamable apply to any degree of reprehensibility.

conduct adjudged blameworthy
an accident for which no one is blamable

When could guilty be used to replace culpable?

While in some cases nearly identical to culpable, 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

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 culpability
Noun
With Macklem especially, the play wants to keep the issue of culpability unsettled as long as possible. Jesse Green, New York Times, 9 May 2025 In February, an NYPD administrative judge recommended that Lieutenant Jonathan Rivera be removed from the police force without benefits after finding that Rivera broke the law, violated NYPD use-of-force protocols, and lied to cover up his culpability in the 2019 killing of Allan Feliz. Lourdes Rosado, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 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 See All Example Sentences for culpability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for culpability
Noun
  • Surviving family and friends suffered the injustice of the blame being put on Liverpool fans.
    Julia Andersen, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
  • In other words, many of their go-to argument tactics are riddled with errors that are designed to deflect blame and derail conversations.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • Crawford plead guilty to three counts of vehicular assault and was sentenced to 2.5 years of probation.
    Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 May 2025
  • The jury deliberated for two hours before finding McKnight guilty.
    Lesley Cosme Torres, People.com, 31 May 2025
Noun
  • For Omer Shem Tov, among the last of the hostages to be released before the ceasefire collapsed in March, there is an ever-present feeling of guilt.
    Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
  • An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt: A 23-year-old woman from Peoria was arrested on charges of burglary and retail theft at 4:42 p.m. May 21 at North Washington Street and East Ogden Avenue.
    Steve Metsch, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 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

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Cite this Entry

“Culpability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/culpability. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.

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