Word
accuse
Phoneticsac·cuse, stress on the second syllable
US/əkˈjuz/
UK/ɐkjˈuːz/
Definitions
01to blame for a crime
B1 · Intermediate Law
v. to say officially that someone has committed a crime.
v. to charge someone with a specific criminal offence or legal violation.
“The police accused the man of stealing a car from the car park.”
“The prosecutor formally accused the defendant of conspiracy to commit fraud, citing several encrypted messages as primary evidence.”
Usage
Follows the pattern: accuse + someone + of + something.
Pitfall
The police accused him for the theft.
The police accused him of the theft.
Always use the preposition 'of' after the person being accused.
02to find fault with
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to say that someone is responsible for something bad or dishonest.
v. to attribute a moral fault, social error, or personal failure to someone.
Español:acusar
“She accused her brother of eating the last piece of cake.”
“Critics accused the director of being overly sentimental in the final act of the film, arguing it undermined the previous tension.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “accuse” in context.
Verb
01. accuse someone of something
“The manager decided to accuse the employee of theft after reviewing the security footage.”
verb + noun + prep
02. be accused of
“Several politicians were accused of accepting bribes during the election campaign.”
verb + prep
Adverb
03. falsely accuse
“He was devastated when his neighbor falsely accused him of damaging the fence.”
adv + verb
04. publicly accuse
“The actress chose to publicly accuse the producer of misconduct in a televised interview.”
adv + verb
05. wrongly accuse
“The police admitted they had wrongly accused the suspect due to a case of mistaken identity.”
adv + verb
Real-World Examples
“Beijing rejected the claim, accusing Washington of "politicising" trade issues.” “Netanyahu hit back by accusing Mamdani of “fomenting hate” and turning different religious groups against each other in his city.” Etymology
First attested around 1300. From Middle English acusen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsō (“to call to account, accuse”), from ad (“to”) + causa (“cause, lawsuit, reason”). Akin to cause. Displaced native English bewray.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
Related words
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper IntermediateOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/accuse
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0