as in accusation
the act of blaming someone for a problem instead of trying to fix or solve it
Engaging in finger-pointing will not help us solve the problem. There was no shortage of finger-pointing among executives after the movie bombed at the box office.
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Recent Examples of finger-pointing
The revelation ignited a new round of finger-pointing and accusations inside an already combative primary.
—
Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
But if Kraft gets announced next week as a Hall of Fame inductee, the howling and finger-pointing will take over the remaining hours in the run-up to his Patriots playing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
If fewer solution providers are involved in building the infrastructure and keeping the software up to date, there will be less finger-pointing when things inevitably go wrong.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
There was finger-pointing between the county and state at the time, but what is clear is that the county never communicated with immigration officials.
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for finger-pointing
Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
But if Kraft gets announced next week as a Hall of Fame inductee, the howling and finger-pointing will take over the remaining hours in the run-up to his Patriots playing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
If fewer solution providers are involved in building the infrastructure and keeping the software up to date, there will be less finger-pointing when things inevitably go wrong.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
There was finger-pointing between the county and state at the time, but what is clear is that the county never communicated with immigration officials.
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for finger-pointing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finger-pointing
Noun
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Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of providing a safe haven within Afghanistan for the TTP, an accusation that Afghanistan denies.—
ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
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Nearly 16 years after Jafar Karzoun died after a fight outside a restaurant in Storrs during Spring Weekend at the University of Connecticut, his parents will finally see the wrongful death accusations tied to his killing argued in civil court.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Headline-grabbing cases of apparent fraud at companies like Carriox (which allegedly misled its private-credit lenders) and auto lender Tricolor (where banks got hoodwinked) show there’s plenty of blame to go around.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
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But a child does not have the emotional or cognitive framework to process adult relationship details, especially the painful or blame-filled parts of a divorce.—
Jann Blackstone,
Boston Herald,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Shane referenced last year’s Aspen Place condemnation housing disaster in Gardner that left nearly 700 people homeless within 48 hours.—
Lynne Hermansen,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2026
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The City Council voted Wednesday to pay the money to settle a 2025 condemnation lawsuit to acquire land near the old Dallas Morning News campus from a company owned by developer Ray Washburne.—
Everton Bailey Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Letters admitting compulsions and guilt Judge Lopez must also weigh whether letters Cox wrote to a judge in 1993 and 1995 will be admissible.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Feb. 2026
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My boredom typically spurs feelings of frustration, guilt, shame—and long nutritionless spells of goggling, slack-jawed, at celebrity news on my phone while the world throbs around me.—
Daniel Smith,
The Atlantic,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The censure resolution also stated her social media posts divulged and misrepresented confidential closed session information and disparaged the superintendent and board members.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
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In refusing to bow to an administration that has been intent on bullying private companies into submission, Amodei and his team are taking a bold stand on ethical grounds, and risking a censure that could erode Anthropic’s long-term viability.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finger-pointing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finger-pointing. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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