accuse

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Usage notes 1.3.2 Synonyms 1.3.3 Related terms 1.3.4 Translations 1.4 Noun 1.5 External links 2 French 2.1 Verb 3 Italian 3.1 Noun

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

< Middle English < Old French acuser, French accuser < Latin accusare (“‘to call to account, accuse’”) < ad (“‘to’”) + causa (“‘cause, reason, account, lawsuit’”). Compare cause.

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: əkyo͞ozʹ, IPA: /əˈkjuːz/, SAMPA: /@"kju:z/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -uːz

[edit] Verb

to accuse (third-person singular simple present accuses, present participle accusing, simple past and past participle accused)

1. (transitive) To find fault with, to blame, to censure.
   • Epistle to the Romans 2:15,

     Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.

   • Thomas Babington Macaulay,

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

2. (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.

   • Acts of the Apostles 24:13,

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Synonyms

• (legal): charge; indict; impeach; arraign
• (): blame; censure; reproach; criminate;

[edit] Related terms

• accusable
• accusation
• accusative
• accusatory
• accuser

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

accuse (plural accuses)

1. (obsolete) An accusation - Shakespeare

[edit] External links

• 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

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[edit] French

[edit] Verb

accuse

1. First- and third-person singular indicative present of accuser.
2. First- and third-person singular subjunctive present of accuser.
3. Ordinary second-person singular imperative present of accuser.

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[edit] Italian

[edit] Noun

accuse f.

1. Plural form of accusa.