blame

[ bleym ]
/ bleɪm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR blame ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), blamed, blam·ing.

to hold responsible; find fault with; censure: I don't blame you for leaving him.
to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed by on): I blame the accident on her.
Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse): Blame the rotten luck.

noun

an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof: The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.
responsibility for anything deserving of censure: We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.

Idioms for blame

    to blame, at fault; censurable: I am to blame for his lateness.

Origin of blame

1150–1200; (v.) Middle English blamen < Anglo-French, Old French blasmer < Vulgar Latin *blastēmāre, for Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French bla(s)me, derivative of the v.

synonym study for blame

1, 2. Blame, censure, condemn imply finding fault with someone or something. To blame is to hold accountable for, and disapprove because of, some error, mistake, omission, neglect, or the like: Whom do you blame for the disaster? The verb censure differs from the noun in connoting scolding or rebuking even more than adverse criticism: to censure one for extravagance. To condemn is to express an adverse (especially legal) judgment, without recourse: to condemn conduct, a building, a person to death.

usage note for blame

Some speakers avoid blame on as informal ( He blamed the fight on me ), preferring blame alone ( He blamed me ) or blame for ( He blamed me for it ). Since all three forms occur with equal frequency in educated usage, they may all be considered equally acceptable.

OTHER WORDS FROM blame

blam·er, noun o·ver·blame, verb (used with object), o·ver·blamed, o·ver·blam·ing. self-blame, noun un·blam·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH blame

blame censure condemn (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words nearby blame

blake, william, blakey, blalock, blalock-taussig operation, blamable, blame, blame culture, blameable, blamed, blameful, blameless

Words related to blame

criticism, culpability, onus, fault, accountability, liability, guilt, burden, criticize, attribute, denounce, chide, charge, indict, condemn, animadversion, reprehension, disparagement, accusation, reprobation

Example sentences from the Web for blame

British Dictionary definitions for blame

blame
/ (bleɪm) /

noun

responsibility for something that is wrong or deserving censure; culpability
an expression of condemnation; reproof
be to blame to be at fault or culpable

verb (tr)

(usually foll by for) to attribute responsibility to; accuse I blame him for the failure
(usually foll by on) to ascribe responsibility for (something) to I blame the failure on him
to find fault with

Derived forms of blame

blamable or blameable, adjective blamably or blameably, adverb

Word Origin for blame

C12: from Old French blasmer, ultimately from Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme

Idioms and Phrases with blame

blame

see lay (the blame) on; to blame.