Word
accused
Phoneticsac·cused
US/əkˈjuzd/
UK/ɐkjˈuːzd/
Definitions
01the defendant
n. the person or group of people being charged with a crime in a court case.
n. the person or party officially charged with an offence in a criminal trial. Often used as a collective noun with 'the'.
“The accused stood up when the judge entered the courtroom.”
“The accused maintained a stoic expression throughout the trial, even as the prosecution presented the forensic evidence against him.”
Formal
Usage
Usually used with the definite article 'the' to refer to a specific person or a group.
Antonyms
02charged with a crime
adj. describing someone who has been blamed for doing something wrong or illegal.
adj. having been the subject of an accusation or official charge.
“The accused man refused to answer any questions without his lawyer.”
“The accused officer was suspended from duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation into the missing funds.”
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Pyongyang has accused the US of pushing the world 'to the brink of nuclear war'.” “Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York - but any plea deal in his federal case could impact a separate state trial.” Etymology
* (noun): First attested in the 1590's. * From accuse (“blame”) + -ed
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/accused