ENGLISH
REFERENCE

accused of sth

fixed phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

fixed phr.. when someone says that you have done something wrong or illegal.

fixed phr.. to be formally or informally charged with a specific wrongdoing or crime; typically used in the passive voice followed by the preposition 'of'.


SIMPLE

He was accused of stealing a car.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager was accused of being unfair to the new employees during the meeting.

COMPLEX

Although the politician was publicly accused of corruption, no evidence was ever found to support the claims made by the press.

Usage

almost always follows the pattern 'be accused of' or 'accuse someone of' followed by a noun or gerund.

Teaching tip

students often confuse the preposition; contrast 'accused of' with 'blamed for' or 'charged with' to highlight specific collocations.

Pitfall

He was accused for lying.He was accused of lying.the verb 'accuse' always takes the preposition 'of', not 'for'.

© 2026 English Reference