Accusation

//ˌæk.jʊˈzeɪ.ʃ(ə)n// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of accusing. countable, uncountable

    "We come not by the way of accusation / To taint that honour every good tongue blesses."

  2. 2
    an assertion that someone is guilty of a fault or offence wordnet
  3. 3
    A formal charge brought against a person in a court of law. countable, uncountable

    "[They] set up over his head his accusation."

  4. 4
    a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt wordnet
  5. 5
    An allegation. countable, uncountable

    "ungrounded accusations"

Synonyms

All synonyms
chargeaccusalallegationallegationanimadversionarraignment

Example

More examples

"He is under a false accusation."

Etymology

First attested in the late 14th century. Inherited from Middle English accusacion, borrowed from Old French acusacion (French: accusation), from Latin accūsātiō (“accusation, indictment”), from accūsō (“blame, accuse”). Doublet of accusatio. More at accuse. Equivalent to accuse + -ation.

Related phrases

blood accusationevery accusation is a confessioncourt of law

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.