# blamed

/ˈbɫeɪmd/ (US) · /blˈeɪmd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/blamed
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. held responsible

verb · CEFR B1

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

For teachers: 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.'

### 2. annoying or cursed

adjective · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Dialect

a word used to show you are annoyed by something.

For teachers: 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.

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.

## Examples

- She blamed the heavy rain for being late to work.
- The manager blamed the drop in sales on the recent changes to the website's checkout process.
- While the public blamed the central bank for the rising inflation, economists argued that global supply chain disruptions were the primary catalyst for the economic downturn.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.