self-accusedadj.
/ˌsɛlfəˈkjuːzd/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfəˈkjuzd/ Accused by oneself of a crime or fault, or of being the thing specified.In extended use in quot. 1626.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [adjective] > self-reproaching
self-accusinga1586
self-condemninga1586
self-accused1626
self-reproaching1708
self-reproacheda1740
self-reproved1765
self-reproving1775
self-reproachful1796
self-condemnating1801
self-accusatory1820
self-condemnatory1823
self-condemnant1846
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis xi. 216 An Other hurles a stone;..Which selfe-accus'd for such a rude assay, Before his feet, as in submission, lay.
1649 J. Collinges Lesson Self-deniall 81 You would scarce..walke in the day, but (like the selfe-accused murtherer) your eye would be over your shoulder, for feare the devill should be laying hold of you.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love iv. 51 This self-accus'd, self-punish'd Criminal.
1739 E. F. Haywood Fruitless Enq. 96 The next moment I..resigned myself to justice, and self-accused, testified how little my heart was capable of taking the part of murder.
1803 Cobbett's Ann. Reg. 28 May 789 You stand self-accused of having sacrificed your trust for the sake of popularity.
1870 C. J. Vaughan Earnest Words i. vi. 107 Self-accused, self-emptied, self-condemned.
1911 G. K. Chesterton Innocence of Father Brown xii. 329 He..said to the self-accused murderer in tones of limpid penitence: ‘I'm awfully sorry, my dear sir, but your tale is really rubbish.’
1980 Mass. Rev. 21 490 Daniel's inquiry is about treason, and it is conducted by a self-accused traitor.
2015 M. Adinkrah Witchcraft, Witches, & Violence Ghana vi. 187 Testimonial evidence provided by self-accused witches is taken as the indisputable truth of witchcraft.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1626