accuse

1 bring an accusation against; level a charge against; "He charged the man with spousal abuse" [syn: impeach, incriminate, criminate]

2 blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against; "he charged me director with indifference" [syn: charge]

English

Etymology

Old French acuser, French accuser, Latin accusare, to call to account, accuse; ad- + causa cause, lawsuit. Compare cause

Pronunciation

• , /əˈkjuːz/, /@"kju:z/
• Rhymes with: -uːz

Verb

1. To find fault with or attribute blame to.
2. To charge with, or declare to have committed, a crime or offense.
3. In the context of "transitive|law": To charge with an offense, judicially or by a public process; construed with of.

   For the U.S. President to be impeached, he must be accused of a high crime or misdemeanor.

   • Acts of the Apostles 24:13,

     Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.

   • Thomas Babington Macaulay,

     We are accused of having persuaded Austria and Sardinia to lay down their arms.

4. To charge with a fault; to blame; to censure.
   • Epistle to the Romans 2:15,

     Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.

Synonyms

• charge; blame; censure; reproach; criminate; indict; impeach; arraign

Usage notes

• To accuse, charge, impeach, arraign: these words agree in bringing home to a person the imputation of wrongdoing.
• To accuse is a somewhat formal act, and is applied usually (though not exclusively) to crimes; as, to accuse of treason.
• Charge is the most generic. It may refer to a crime, a dereliction of duty, a fault, etc.; more commonly it refers to moral delinquencies; as, to charge with dishonesty or falsehood.
• To arraign is to bring (a person) before a tribunal for trial; as, to arraign one before a court or at the bar public opinion.
• To impeach is officially to charge with misbehavior in office; as, to impeach a minister of high crimes.
• Both impeach and arraign convey the idea of peculiar dignity or impressiveness.

Translations

Noun

1. An accusation - Shakespeare

French

Verb

accuse

Italian

Noun

accuse

1. Plural of accusa

accuse of, allege, anathematize, anathemize, animadvert on, arraign, article, attribute, blame, book, bring accusation, bring charges, bring to book, call to account, cast blame upon, cast reflection upon, censure, charge, charge with, cite, complain, complain against, condemn, criminate, criticize, cry down, cry out against, cry out on, cry shame upon, damn, decry, denounce, denunciate, fasten on, fasten upon, finger, fulminate against, hang something on, impeach, imply, impugn, impute, incriminate, inculpate, indict, inform against, inform on, insinuate, inveigh against, lay charges, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint, pin on, prefer charges, press charges, put on report, reflect upon, report, reprehend, reproach, reprobate, shake up, take to task, task, taunt with, tax, twit