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accuseto claim that someone has done something wrong or is guilty of something

Part of speech: VERB

Definition: to claim that someone has done something wrong or is guilty of something

Pronunciation (IPA): /əˈkjuːz/

Example Sentences

  • My cat accused me of being late with dinner by giving me the stink eye.
  • Don't accuse me of eating all the cookies when there's chocolate on your face!
  • The witness accused the defendant of running the red light.

accuse

VERB

[/əˈkjuːz/]

to claim that someone has done something wrong or is guilty of something

She accused her friend too quickly — before knowing the full truth.
💡 Concept

She accused her friend too quickly — before knowing the full truth.

They accused him immediately — turning suspicion into a case against him. (A CASE + YOU → to accuse someone is to build a CASE against YOU → accusation turns suspicion into direct blame)
🧠 Mnemonic

They accused him immediately — turning suspicion into a case against him. (A CASE + YOU → to accuse someone is to build a CASE against YOU → accusation turns suspicion into direct blame)

They accused him of misuse — but he insisted there was a reasonable excuse.
🎵 Rhyme

They accused him of misuse — but he insisted there was a reasonable excuse.

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/əˈkjuːz/
🇬🇧 UK/əˈkjuːz/

🌳Etymology

Prefixac--
Rootcus
Suffix--e

Origin

From Old French 'accuser', derived from Latin 'accusare', which combines 'ad-' (to) and 'causa' (cause, lawsuit). The word originally meant to bring a legal charge or lawsuit against someone.

Breakdown

ad- (to) + causa (cause, lawsuit) + -e (verb ending) = accuse

🎵Rhyme

abuseexcuserefusedefuse
abuse
excuse
refuse
defuse

🔗Collocations

accuse someone of
falsely accuse
accuse of theft
accuse of lying
accuse without evidence
wrongfully accuse

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My cat accused me of being late with dinner by giving me the stink eye.

😄 Fun example

Don't accuse me of eating all the cookies when there's chocolate on your face!

The witness accused the defendant of running the red light.

She was wrongly accused of cheating on the exam.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

blamechargecondemncriticizeindict

Antonyms

defendexcuseabsolve

Related

accusationaccuseraccused

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