accuse
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also accusé
Contents |
English [edit]
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Etymology [edit]
- First attested around 1300.
- From Middle English acusen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsō (“to call to account, accuse”), from ad (“to”) + causa (“cause, lawsuit, reason”).
- Compare cause.
Pronunciation [edit]
- (RP) enPR: əkyo͞ozʹ, IPA: /əˈkjuːz/, X-SAMPA: /@"kju:z/
- (US) IPA: /ə.ˈkjuz
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uːz
Verb [edit]
accuse (third-person singular simple present accuses, present participle accusing, simple past and past participle accused)
- (transitive) To find fault with, to blame, to censure.
- (Can we date this quote?) Epistle to the Romans 2:15,
- Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.
- (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Babington Macaulay,
- We are accused of having persuaded Austria and Sardinia to lay down their arms.
- (Can we date this quote?) Epistle to the Romans 2:15,
- (transitive) To charge with having committed a crime or offence.
- For the U.S. President to be impeached, he must be accused of a high crime or misdemeanor.
- (Can we date this quote?) Acts of the Apostles 24:13,
- Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
- (intransitive) To make an accusation against someone.
Usage notes [edit]
- (legal): When used this way accused is followed by the word of.
- Synonym 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.
Synonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
attribute blame to someone
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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Noun [edit]
accuse (plural accuses)
- (obsolete) An accusation
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
External links [edit]
- accuse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- accuse in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- accuse at OneLook Dictionary Search
French [edit]
Verb [edit]
accuse
- First- and third-person singular indicative present of accuser
- First- and third-person singular subjunctive present of accuser
- Ordinary second-person singular imperative present of accuser
Italian [edit]
Noun [edit]
accuse f
- Plural form of accusa
