English Reference

Word

blamed

US/ˈbɫeɪmd/

UK/blˈeɪmd/

Definitions

01held responsible

B1

v. said that someone or something was the cause of a problem.

v. assigned responsibility for a fault, failure, or negative outcome. Transitive, often followed by the preposition 'for'.

“The manager blamed the delay on a technical problem with the computers.”

“The investigators blamed the structural failure on a combination of poor maintenance and extreme weather conditions.”

Usage

Commonly used in the passive voice: 'He was blamed for the mistake.'

Pitfall

He blamed the accident to his brother.

He blamed the accident on his brother.

You blame something 'on' someone, or blame someone 'for' something.

Synonyms

accusedheld responsible

02annoying or cursed

C2

adj. a word used to show you are annoyed by something.

adj. used as a mild euphemistic intensifier to express frustration or annoyance.

“I can't get this blamed car to start in the cold weather.”

“He spent the entire afternoon trying to fix that blamed fence while the rain soaked through his coat.”

Archaic · Dialect

Teaching tip

This usage is very old-fashioned and mostly found in 19th-century literature or specific rural dialects; modern speakers would use 'damn' or 'stupid' instead.

Synonyms

darnedconfounded

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference