blame
[verb]
Synonyms:
- hold responsible, accuse, censure, chide, condemn, criticize, find fault with, reproach
[noun]
Synonyms:
- responsibility, accountability, culpability, fault, guilt, liability, onus

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Contrasted words: exculpate, vindicate, praise, commendation, compliment, acclaim, applause
Related Idioms: lay at one's door (or doorstep), lay (or put) the blame on, burden of guilt
Related Words: accuse, charge, impute, accountability, answerability, liability, accusation, imputation, censure, condemnation, denunciation, reprehension

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English Thesaurus: blame, put/place/lay the blame on somebody/something, say it’s sb’s fault, hold somebody responsible, take the rap, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. blame¹ S2 W3 /bleɪm/ verb [transitive]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: blamer, from Late Latin blasphemare; ⇒ blaspheme]

1. to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad:
Don’t blame me – it’s not my fault.
I blame his mother. She does everything for him.
blame somebody/something for something
Marie still blames herself for Patrick’s death.
The report blames poor safety standards for the accident.
The decision to increase interest rates was widely blamed (=blamed by many people) for the crisis.
blame something on somebody/something
One of the computers is broken and she’s blaming it on me.
The crash was blamed on pilot error.

2. somebody/something is to blame (for something) used to say that someone or something is responsible for something bad:
Officials believe that more than one person may be to blame for the fire.
partly/largely/entirely etc to blame
Television is partly to blame.

REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say something is someone's fault , rather than saying they are to blame:
■ He was to blame for the accident. ➔ The accident was his fault.

3. I don’t blame you/you can hardly blame him etc spoken used to say that you think it was right or reasonable for someone to do what they did:
‘She’s left her husband.’ ‘I don’t blame her, after the way he treated her.’
You can hardly blame him for not waiting.

4. don’t blame me spoken used when you are advising someone not to do something but you think that they will do it in spite of your advice:
Buy it then, but don’t blame me when it breaks down.

5. somebody only has himself/herself to blame spoken used to say that someone’s problems are their own fault:
If he fails his exams, he’ll only have himself to blame.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. blame² noun [uncountable]
responsibility for a mistake or for something bad
blame for
Do you accept any blame for what happened?
I always get the blame (=am blamed) for his mistakes!
She stole the money but she’s trying to put the blame on (=blame) me.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

blame
noun
VERB + BLAME get My brother broke the window, but I got the blame.
accept, bear, shoulder, take The company refused to accept any blame for the damage.
apportion, attach, attribute, lay, pin, place, put They placed the blame squarely on the doctor.
share The government must share the blame for this confusion.
escape, shift trying to shift the blame onto someone else
absolve sb from/of He was absolved of all blame.
BLAME + VERB fall on sb, lie with sb, rest with sb The blame lies with the police, who failed to act quickly enough.
PREP. ~ for He tried to escape blame for what he did.
PHRASES lay the blame at sb's door, part of the blame, a share of the blame The government tried to lay the blame at the door of the unions.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

blame
verb
ADV. unfairly, unjustly
VERB + BLAME can't/cannot, couldn't, don't ‘I just slammed the phone down when he said that.’ ‘I don't blame you!’
can/could hardly You can hardly blame Peter for being angry with her.
PREP. for I don't blame Jack for the mistake.
on Whenever something goes wrong, everyone blames it on me.
PHRASES be (partly) to blame (for sth) A spokesman said that bad weather was to blame for the delay.
be widely blamed for sth The government has been widely blamed for the crisis.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

blame
verb
BAD: I wasn't even there so you can't blame on me.
GOOD: I wasn't even there so you can't blame me.
GOOD: I wasn't even there so you can't blame it on me.
BAD: Who is to be blamed about this?
GOOD: Who is to be blamed for this?

Usage Note:
blame sb (for sth ): 'Nobody can blame you for telling the truth.'
blame sth on sb/sth : 'Whenever children behave badly, people blame it on the teachers.'
Compare: 'He always tries to put the blame on me.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

blame verb [transitive] to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad that has happened:
Democrats have blamed Republicans for the failure to reach an agreement.
Police blamed bad weather for a series of accidents on the roads.
For many years I blamed myself for her death.
They blamed the failure of the business on the economic downturn.
put/place/lay the blame on somebody/something to say who or what you think is responsible for something bad that has happened, often unfairly or wrongly:
Don’t try to put the blame on me!
Subsequent investigations placed the blame squarely on city officials.
Farmers have laid the blame for their problems entirely on EU policies.
say it’s sb’s fault especially spoken to say that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened:
Are you saying it’s my fault that we lost the game?
hold somebody responsible to say that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened, because it was their duty to prevent it from happening:
He was held personally responsible for the failure of the project.
take the rap informal (also carry the can British English informal) to be blamed and punished for something that you did not do, or that someone else is also responsible for:
He expects his wife to take the rap for him.
Alan’s colleagues decided to let him carry the can.
get the blame (=be blamed)
Sam knew that if something went wrong, he’d get the blame.
take/accept/shoulder the blame (=say that something is your fault)
No one was prepared to take the blame for the disaster.
Parents must shoulder the blame if their kids behave badly.
put/pin the blame on somebody (also lay/place the blame on somebody written) (=blame someone, especially when it is not their fault)
Don’t try to put the blame on me.
Everyone laid the blame for the crisis on the government.
shift the blame (onto somebody) (=blame someone else for something you did)
She always tried to shift the blame onto her brother.
apportion/assign blame formal (=find someone to blame for something)
He seemed to want to apportion blame for her death.
share the blame
He admitted he shared the blame for their World Cup defeat.
the blame lies with somebody (=used to say that someone is responsible for something bad)
In this case, the blame lay with the police.
place the blame squarely/firmly on somebody (=blame someone in a very definite way)
A military investigation placed the blame squarely on city officials.
point the finger of blame at somebody (=say that someone is responsible for something bad)
I couldn’t believe it when they started pointing the finger of blame at me.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

blame
bleɪm
See: to blame

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲