blame
(blām)
[Middle English blamen, from Old French blasmer, blamer, from Vulgar Latin* blastēmāre, alteration of Late Latin blasphēmāre, to reproach; see blaspheme.]
transitive verb: blamed, blam·ing, blames.
- To hold responsible.
- To find fault with; censure.
- To place responsibility for (something): blamed the crisis on poor planning.
noun
- The state of being responsible for a fault or error; culpability.
- Censure; condemnation.
idioms
- to blame
- Deserving censure; at fault. Being the cause or source of something: A freak storm was to blame for the power outage.
derivatives
- blaḿer
- noun
synonyms:
blame, fault, guilt These nouns denote a sense of responsibility for an offense. Blame stresses censure or punishment for a lapse or misdeed for which one is held accountable: The police laid the blame for the accident on the driver. Fault is culpability for wrongdoing or failure: It is my own fault that I wasn't prepared for the exam. Guilt applies to willful wrongdoing and stresses moral culpability: The prosecution had evidence of the defendant's guilt.- See also: criticize
