accusation
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a statement saying that you believe someone has done something bad or illegal.
the act of blaming or a statement containing such blame; often used with the preposition 'of'.
Simple“He denied the accusation that he had stolen the money from the office.”
In context“The manager faced a serious accusation of professional misconduct after several employees reported his behavior to the board.”
UsageCommonly follows the pattern 'accusation of' followed by a noun or gerund.
PitfallShe made an accusation about him for lying. She made an accusation of lying against him.The standard pattern is 'accusation of [action]' or 'accusation against [person]'.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a formal statement in a court of law that says someone is guilty of a crime.
a formal criminal charge brought against a defendant in a legal proceeding.
Simple“The police dropped the accusation when they found new evidence.”
In context“The prosecution struggled to provide sufficient evidence to support the accusation of fraud against the former executive.”
UsageIn legal contexts, this refers specifically to the formal document or statement of charges.
Teacher's tipWhile 'accusation' is used in general English, 'indictment' or 'charge' is often more precise in a professional legal setting.
SynonymsAntonymsacquittalexoneration
Usage accusations of plagiarism · accusations speculation
“Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli authorities for comment on the attacks on Taybeh, and the accusations that their response has not been sufficient, but has yet to receive a response.”
“The accusations against Bruno Foucher prompted investigations into a potential security breach.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.