Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense accuses, present participle accusing, past tense, past participle accused
1. verb
If you accuse someone of doing something wrong or dishonest, you say or tell them that you believe that they did it.
He was accusing my mum of having an affair with another man. [VERB noun + of]
Talk things through in stages. Do not accuse or apportion blame. [VERB]
[Also VERB noun]
Synonyms: point a or the finger at, allege, blame for, denounce More Synonyms of accuse
2. verb
If you are accusedof a crime, a witness or someone in authority states or claims that you did it, and you may be formally charged with it and put on trial.
Her assistant was accused of theft and fraud by the police. [beVERB-ed + of]
All seven charges accused him of lying in his testimony. [VERB noun + of]
The accused men have been given relatively light sentences. [VERB-ed]
[Also VERB noun]
Synonyms: charge with, indict for, impeach for, arraign for More Synonyms of accuse
3. See also accused, accusing
4.
See stand accused
accuse in British English
(əˈkjuːz)
verb
to charge (a person or persons) with some fault, offence, crime, etc; impute guilt or blame
Derived forms
accuser (acˈcuser)
noun
accusing (acˈcusing)
adjective
accusingly (acˈcusingly)
adverb
Word origin
C13: via Old French from Latin accūsāre to call to account, from ad- to + causa lawsuit
accuse in American English
(əˈkjuz)
verb transitiveWord forms: acˈcused or acˈcusing
1.
to find at fault; blame
2.
to bring formal charges against (of doing wrong, breaking the law, etc.)
Idioms:
the accused
SYNONYMY NOTE: accuse means to find fault for offenses of varying gravity [to accuse someone of murder, carelessness, etc.]; to charge is to make an accusation of a legal or formal nature [the police charged her with jaywalking]; indict describes the action of a grand jury and means to find a case against a person andorder the person to be brought to trial; , arraign means to call a person before a court to be informed of pending charges; , impeach means to charge a public official with misconduct in office, but in nonlegal usagemeans to challenge a person's motives, etc.
Derived forms
accuser (acˈcuser)
noun
accusingly (acˈcusingly)
adverb
Word origin
ME acusen < OFr acuser < L accusare, to call to account < ad-, to + causa, cause
Examples of 'accuse' in a sentence
accuse
Now he plans to sue the man accused of obtaining the forgery.
The Sun (2016)
It recounts the story of a woman giving evidence in an indecency case and being asked what the accused man said to her.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
They also say that the offences he is accused of are not crimes in England.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A company run by a connoisseur who sells investments in fine wine has been accused of fraud.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
MINISTERS were last night accused of risking another health scandal after a 20 per cent cut in food inspectors.
The Sun (2016)
Banks often blame the victims of fraud, accusing them of being lax with their personal information, which can be used by fraudsters.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
None of the three men has been formally accused of any wrongdoing.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They are not involved in any plea bargain and have not been accused of any offence.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He is also accused of wounding another pupil.
The Sun (2011)
But success was overshadowed when he was accused of property fraud the day after his victory.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He is also accused of another murder and of being part of two narcotics cartels.
The Sun (2012)
Another is to accuse him of political motives.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There is a confrontation in which a theatre worker accuses another of working for the Stasi.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A man who was accused of insider dealing.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A process of negotiation may occur between tax inspectors and those accused of tax frauds.
Walklate, Sandra Victimology - the victim and the criminal justice process (1989)
It makes British legal history by giving teachers automatic anonymity if they are accused of an offence against a pupil.
The Sun (2012)
Many have been falsely accused of crimes to settle scores between families, and three quarters of them are being held without trial.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But if money must be found from criminal legal aid then there is one glaring solution - stop legal aid for wealthy defendants accused of fraud.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The fund provided support for those accused of political offences by the South African regime.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
And then, because the man she accused hired a lawyer, she was forced to hire one too.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
In the court of public opinion, celebrities accused of crimes are judged not on the facts, but on our taste.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Speaking to camera, the masked man accused the hostages of being spies for the British government and claimed that they had been abandoned.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
accuse
British English: accuse /əˈkjuːz/ VERB
If you accuse someone of something, you say that you believe they did something wrong or dishonest.
He accused her of having an affair.
American English: accuse
Arabic: يَتَّهِمُ
Brazilian Portuguese: acusar
Chinese: 指控
Croatian: optužiti
Czech: obvinit
Danish: beskylde
Dutch: beschuldigen
European Spanish: acusar culpar
Finnish: syyttää
French: accuser
German: beschuldigen
Greek: κατηγορώ
Italian: accusare
Japanese: 訴える
Korean: 고소하다 법적 조치를 하다
Norwegian: beskylde
Polish: oskarżyć
European Portuguese: acusar
Romanian: a acuza
Russian: обвинять
Latin American Spanish: acusar
Swedish: anklaga
Thai: กล่าวหา
Turkish: suçlamak
Ukrainian: звинувачувати
Vietnamese: buộc tội
Chinese translation of 'accuse'
accuse
(əˈkjuːz)
vt
to accuse sb of (doing) sth (of dishonesty, immorality) 指责(責)某人(做)某事 (zhǐzé mǒurén (zuò) mǒushì)
to be accused of sth (of crime) 被指控某事 (bèi zhǐkòng mǒushì)
1 (verb)
He accused me of being lazy.
Synonyms
point a or the finger at
allege
The accused is alleged to have killed a man.
blame for
denounce
Informers might at any moment denounce them to the authorities.
attribute to
hold responsible for
impute blame to
Opposites
deny
,
exonerate
2 (verb)
Definition
to charge a person with wrongdoing
Her assistant was accused of theft and fraud by the police.
Synonyms
charge with
indict for
impeach for
arraign for
cite
tax with
censure with
incriminate for
recriminate for
Opposites
vindicate
,
exonerate
,
absolve
Additional synonyms
in the sense of allege
Definition
to state without proof
The accused is alleged to have killed a man.
Synonyms
claim,
hold,
charge,
challenge,
state,
maintain,
advance,
declare,
assert,
uphold,
put forward,
affirm,
profess,
depose,
avow,
aver,
asseverate (formal)
in the sense of denounce
Definition
to give information against
Informers might at any moment denounce them to the authorities.