blame

[ bleym ]

verb (used with object)

, blamed, blam·ing.

1. to hold responsible; find fault with; censure:

   I don't blame you for leaving him.

   Synonyms: criticize, reprehend, reprove, reproach

2. to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed by on ):

   I blame the accident on her.

   Synonyms: criticize, reprehend, reprove, reproach

3. Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse):

   Blame the rotten luck.

noun

1. an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof:

   The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.

   Synonyms: animadversion, reproach, stricture, condemnation, reprehension

2. responsibility for anything deserving of censure:

   We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.

   Synonyms: sin, fault, culpability, guilt

blame

/ bleɪm /

noun

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

verb

1. usually foll by for to attribute responsibility to; accuse

   I blame him for the failure

2. usually foll by on to ascribe responsibility for (something) to

   I blame the failure on him

3. to find fault with

Usage Note

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.

Derived Forms

• ˈblamable, adjective
• ˈblamably, adverb

Other Words From

• blamer noun
• over·blame verb (used with object) overblamed overblaming
• self-blame noun
• un·blaming adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of blame¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English blamen, from Anglo-French, Old French blasmer, from Vulgar Latin blastēmāre (unrecorded), from Late Latin blasphēmāre “to speak irreverently, profanely” ( blaspheme ); noun derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of blame¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. to blame, at fault; censurable:

   I am to blame for his lateness.

More idioms and phrases containing blame

see lay (the blame) on ; to blame .

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

If so, he has his silence -- on top of poor judgment -- to blame.

From The Daily Beast

And who can blame them for feeling disenfranchised when they see their efforts dwarfed by the mega donors.

From The Daily Beast

And in so many of these events, the pattern of “blame the victim” was quickly in evidence.

From The Daily Beast

“Most of the diseases we blame on nutrition are actually diseases of disempowerment,” Bacon said.

From The Daily Beast

Authorities blame anarchists protesting a proposed high-speed rail line called TAV that will link Turin and Lyon, France.

From The Daily Beast

Tell Lady Maude the candid truth, and take shame and blame to yourself, as you deserve.

From Project Gutenberg

And he was inclined to believe that it was Grandfather Mole that was to blame for the scarcity of worms in the neighborhood.

From Project Gutenberg

If the journey is now distasteful to her, she has but her own rashness to blame in having sought it herself.

From Project Gutenberg

My own yielding folly alone is to blame, and I shall take shame to myself for ever.

From Project Gutenberg

I don't blame him for killin' the cuss, not a bit; I'd have shot any man livin' that 'ad taken a good horse o' mine up that trail.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attribute
• charge
• chide
• condemn
• criticize
• denounce
• indict