[syn: charge, accuse]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Accuse \Ac*cuse"\, n.
Accusation. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Accuse \Ac*cuse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accused; p. pr. & vb.
n. Accusing.] [OF. acuser, F. accuser, L. accusare, to call
to account, accuse; ad + causa cause, lawsuit. Cf. Cause.]
1. To charge with, or declare to have committed, a crime or
offense; (Law) to charge with an offense, judicially or by
a public process; -- with of; as, to accuse one of a high
crime or misdemeanor.
[1913 Webster]
Neither can they prove the things whereof they now
accuse me. --Acts xxiv.
13.
[1913 Webster]
We are accused of having persuaded Austria and
Sardinia to lay down their arms. --Macaulay.
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2. To charge with a fault; to blame; to censure.
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Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else
excusing one another. --Rom. ii. 15.
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3. To betray; to show. [R.] --Sir P.
Sidney.
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Syn: To charge; blame; censure; reproach; criminate; indict;
impeach; arraign.
Usage: To Accuse, Charge, Impeach, Arraign. These
words agree in bringing home to a person the
imputation of wrongdoing. To accuse is a somewhat
formal act, and is applied usually (though not
exclusively) to crimes; as, to accuse of treason.
Charge is the most generic. It may refer to a crime, a
dereliction of duty, a fault, etc.; more commonly it
refers to moral delinquencies; as, to charge with
dishonesty or falsehood. To arraign is to bring (a
person) before a tribunal for trial; as, to arraign
one before a court or at the bar public opinion. To
impeach is officially to charge with misbehavior in
office; as, to impeach a minister of high crimes. Both
impeach and arraign convey the idea of peculiar
dignity or impressiveness.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
accuse
v 1: bring an accusation against; level a charge against; "The
neighbors accused the man of spousal abuse" [syn: accuse,
impeach, incriminate, criminate]
2: blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against;
"he charged the director with indifference" [syn: charge,
accuse]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
67 Moby Thesaurus words for "accuse":
accuse of, allege, anathematize, anathemize, animadvert on,
arraign, article, attribute, blame, book, bring accusation,
bring charges, bring to book, call to account, cast blame upon,
cast reflection upon, censure, charge, charge with, cite, complain,
complain against, condemn, criminate, criticize, cry down,
cry out against, cry out on, cry shame upon, damn, decry, denounce,
denunciate, fasten on, fasten upon, finger, fulminate against,
hang something on, impeach, imply, impugn, impute, incriminate,
inculpate, indict, inform against, inform on, insinuate,
inveigh against, lay charges, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint,
pin on, prefer charges, press charges, put on report, reflect upon,
report, reprehend, reproach, reprobate, shake up, take to task,
task, taunt with, tax, twit
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
ACCUSED. One who is charged with a crime or misdemeanor.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
ACCUSER. One who makes an accusation.
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
ACCUSE, v.t. To affirm another's guilt or unworth; most commonly as a
justification of ourselves for having wronged him.