allegation
- 01 C1 Advanced
a claim that someone did something bad, even though it has not been proven yet.
an unproven assertion that someone has committed a crime or a moral error. Often used in legal or journalistic contexts to describe a charge before a verdict is reached.
Simple“The company denied the allegation that they had treated their workers unfairly.”
In context“The committee launched a full investigation into the allegation of bribery after several anonymous whistleblowers came forward with internal documents.”
UsageCommonly used with the verbs 'make', 'deny', 'investigate', or 'withdraw'.
Teacher's tipRemind students that using 'allegation' instead of 'fact' is essential in professional writing to avoid libel or jumping to conclusions before a trial.
PitfallThe allegation for the crime was false. The allegation of the crime was false.Use the preposition 'of' to connect the allegation to the specific act being claimed.
Usage allegations of plagiarism · allegations involving · allegation of sexual
“That report made allegations about Wondermind's finances and issues with its management, according to the lawsuit.”
“The investigation is said to relate to allegations of concealing or disguising donations derived from an "impermissible" donor to a party, or the use of "false" information about a donation.”
Borrowed from Middle French allégation, from Latin allegatio, from allegare. See allege.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.