Word
incriminating
Phoneticsin·crim·i·nat·ing
US/ˌɪnˈkɹɪməˌneɪtɪŋ/
UK/ɪnkɹˈɪmɪnˌeɪtɪŋ/
Definition
adj. making someone look guilty of a crime or a mistake. You use this to describe evidence or facts that show someone did something wrong.
adj. providing evidence of involvement in a crime or misconduct; strongly suggesting guilt. Often used to describe physical evidence, testimony, or digital records.
Examples
“The police found incriminating photos on his phone.”
“The prosecutor presented incriminating emails that proved the executive knew about the fraud before it happened.”
“Despite his claims of innocence, the discovery of his DNA at the crime scene provided incriminating evidence that the jury found impossible to ignore.”
Examples
simple
“The police found incriminating photos on his phone.”
contextual
“The prosecutor presented incriminating emails that proved the executive knew about the fraud before it happened.”
complex
“Despite his claims of innocence, the discovery of his DNA at the crime scene provided incriminating evidence that the jury found impossible to ignore.”
Usage
Typically used attributively before a noun like 'evidence', 'testimony', or 'documents'.
Real-World Examples
“Dropping an innocent term into a conversation would have been a way of identifying another gay man , without the risk of incriminating yourself among people who were not in the know.” “In 1972, the Watergate burglars may have been looking to see if Democratic party head Larry O'Brien (one of Hughes's Washington lawyers) possessed incriminating evidence of illegal contributions from Hughes.” “I apologise in advance for any incriminating photo evidence.” Etymology
From incriminate + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/incriminating