Library / English Dictionary

BLAME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A reproach for some lapse or misdeed

Example:

it was a bum rap

Synonyms:

blame; rap

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("blame" is a kind of...):

reproach (a mild rebuke or criticism)

Derivation:

blame (harass with constant criticism)

blameworthy (deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An accusation that you are responsible for some lapse or misdeed

Example:

the police laid the blame on the driver

Synonyms:

blame; incrimination; inculpation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("blame" is a kind of...):

accusal; accusation (a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blame"):

self-incrimination (an accusation that incriminates yourself)

Derivation:

blame (attribute responsibility to)

blame (put or pin the blame on)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expletives used informally as intensifiers

Example:

an infernal nuisance

Synonyms:

blame; blamed; blasted; blessed; damn; damned; darned; deuced; goddam; goddamn; goddamned; infernal

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

cursed; curst (deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Attribute responsibility to

Example:

The tragedy was charged to her inexperience

Synonyms:

blame; charge

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "blame" is one way to...):

ascribe; assign; attribute; impute (attribute or credit to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

blamable (deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious)

blame (an accusation that you are responsible for some lapse or misdeed)

blameable (deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Put or pin the blame on

Synonyms:

blame; fault

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "blame" is one way to...):

accuse; charge (blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Antonym:

absolve (let off the hook)

Derivation:

blamable (deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious)

blame (an accusation that you are responsible for some lapse or misdeed)

blameable (deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Harass with constant criticism

Example:

Don't always pick on your little brother

Synonyms:

blame; find fault; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "blame" is one way to...):

criticise; criticize; knock; pick apart (find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

blame (a reproach for some lapse or misdeed)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I am not to blame, Mr. Holmes.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But, indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of the great cases are past.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

About ten minutes later a knock came at the door, and here we made the one serious mistake for which I blame myself.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I hope, too, Dr. Van Helsing will not blame me; I have had so much trouble and anxiety of late that I feel I cannot bear more just at present.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“There is nothing I can say, sir,” I returned, “except that all the blame is mine. Dora—”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

In Palu, although early reporting blamed most of the estimated 2,000 fatalities on a tsunami, surveys soon showed that soil-liquefaction landslides caused at least as much damage as the ocean waves did.

(NASA Map Reveals a New Landslide Risk Factor, NASA)

That's how an experimental malnutrition test made with bacterial innards could work one day to expose widespread zinc deficiencies blamed for roughly half a million deaths annually.

(Test for life-threatening nutrient deficit is made from bacteria entrails, National Science Foundation)

Blame Mars in Libra, a tricky, challenging place for Mars to be when opposite your Sun.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Sinusitis or problems with your nose may be to blame.

(Bad Breath, NIH)

Some people have long-term problems after a disaster, including: • Post-traumatic stress disorder • Depression • Self-blame • Suicidal thoughts • Alcohol or drug abuse

(Coping with Disasters, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)