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

It turns out there are a number of ways of divvying up the blame.

From Vox

It’s easy to throw blame at university leaders and students for the chaos that schools have already experienced this year.

From Fortune

A law firm preparing the city’s defense has put the blame on environmental contractors.

From Voice of San Diego

The Kenyan government also shared blame for being in breach of both environmental and human rights laws within the Kenyan constitution.

From Quartz

This suggests that at least some voters are open to an argument that gives China a significant share of the blame for the pandemic.

From FiveThirtyEight

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

More About Blame

What does blame mean?

To blame someone for something is to hold them responsible for something negative that happened. In other words, to blame them is to say or believe that they did it or that it happened because of them.

A person can be blamed for a crime—meaning that they are being accused of having committed it. Blame can be used in much less serious contexts—you can blame someone for eating the last cookie, for example.

In general, we blame things on people and we blame people for things. For example, in the event of a car accident, we could say that one driver is blaming the other for the accident, or that one driver is blaming the accident on the other driver.

When someone is blamed for something, it doesn’t mean they are guilty of it—it simply means they are being accused of being guilty of it.

The word blame can also be used as a noun referring to the responsibility for something negative that happened. This is how the word is used in the phrase assign blame. As a noun, blame can also mean the disapproval, condemnation, or criticism for something bad that happened, as in He deserves most of the blame for the loss.

It’s usually people who are blamed when bad things happen, but sometimes it’s a thing, as in The power company blamed the outage on the storm.

The word blame is always used in the context of something bad that happened—you don’t blame someone for something good. (However, the word can be used in an ironic way, as in Everyone thinks I became famous all by myself, but I blame all of the people who supported me.)

To blame yourself is to believe that you were responsible for something bad that happened. The phrase to blame can mean responsible or at fault, as in It’s hard to tell who’s to blame in this situation.

Example: My brother blamed the dog for knocking over the lamp, but my parents knew who was to blame.

Where does blame come from?

The first records of the word blame come from the 1100s. It comes from the Late Latin blasphēmāre, meaning “to blaspheme” (“to speak in a disrespectful way about God or other things considered sacred”).

Blame appears in many different words and expressions. Someone who deserves blame can be described as blameworthy (or, less commonly, blameful). Someone who is blameless is someone who hasn’t done anything wrong—they haven’t done anything to be blamed for.

The informal term blame game refers to a situation in which people try to blame each other for something bad happening, as in Let’s not play the blame game and try to make someone the scapegoat for all of this. The slang verb blamestorm is modeled on the verb brainstorm and means to engage in a process of deciding whom to assign blame to.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to blame?

• blameworthy (adjective)
• blameless (adjective)
• blameful (adjective)
• blamable (adjective)
• blamer (noun)

What are some synonyms for blame?

• accuse
• charge
• condemn
• censure
• culpability
• condemnation

What are some words that share a root or word element with blame? 

 

• blamestorm
• blaspheme

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing blame?

 

• guilty
• assign
• place
• lay
• fault
• crime
• mistake
• error
• someone
• myself
• yourself

 

 

 

 

 

How is blame used in real life?

Due to its meaning, blame is almost always used in negative contexts. It can be used in serious situations, such as those involving a crime, or in less serious ones.

It gets to a point where you gotta stop blaming other people for your problems and get yourself together. It’s easy to blame everyone else; it’s hard when you gotta place the blame on yourself. Accountability is key!

— 🌻♒︎ (@JustShyra) December 16, 2020

Arsenal players should look at themselves before blaming others, says David Seamanhttps://t.co/hNFRVdpjve

— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) December 21, 2020

Here's all you need to know about what kind of guy Dbacks 1B coach Dave McKay is: He interrupted the crowd of reporters around Alex Avila's locker to insist that he (McKay) deserved the blame for the baserunning error.

— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) April 15, 2018

Try using blame!

Is blame used correctly in the following sentence?

“Extremely foggy weather was to blame for the car accident.”