Accuses

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈkjuːzɪz/

Definitions

1. States or claims that someone has done something wrong or is responsible for a fault
2. Asserts that a person has committed an offense or acted improperly
3. Alleges that an individual is guilty of a mistake or harmful action

Etymology: The verb "accuses" is simply the third-person singular present form of "accuse", so its history is the history of that verb. The original idea is legal: Latin "accūsāre" meant "to call to account", built from "ad", "to", and "causa", a word for cause, lawsuit or reason. To accuse someone was, at root, to bring them before a reason or a court to answer for something. English borrowed the idea through Old French "acuser", reaching Middle English as "acusen" and first appearing in writing around 1300. Before that arrival, English had its own native verbs for the job. "Bewray" and the Old English "sċyldan" (a relative of "shield" and "guilt" in spirit, meaning to charge with a fault) were pushed aside by the newcomer, which has outlasted them both.

Synonyms: blames, charges, imputes, denounces

Antonyms: defends, absolves, exonerates