Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
1.
to hold responsible; find fault with; censure: I don't blame you for leaving him.
2.
to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed by on): I blame the accident on her.
3.
Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse): Blame the rotten luck.
noun
4.
an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof: The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.
5.
responsibility for anything deserving of censure: We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.
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Self-blame
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
6.
to blame, at fault; censurable: I am to blame for his lateness.
Origin:
1150–1200; (v.) Middle English blamen < Anglo-French, Old French blasmer < Vulgar Latin *blastēmāre, for Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French bla(s)me, derivative of the v.
1150–1200; (v.) Middle English blamen < Anglo-French, Old French blasmer < Vulgar Latin *blastēmāre, for Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French bla(s)me, derivative of the v.
Related forms
blam·er, noun
o·ver·blame, verb (used with object), -blamed, -blam·ing.
self-blame, noun
un·blam·ing, adjective
Synonyms
1, 2. reproach, reprove, reprehend, criticize. Blame, censure, condemn imply finding fault with someone or something. To blame is to hold accountable for, and disapprove because of, some error, mistake, omission, neglect, or the like: Whom do you blame for the disaster? The verb censure differs from the noun in connoting scolding or rebuking even more than adverse criticism: to censure one for extravagance. To condemn is to express an adverse (especially legal) judgment, without recourse: to condemn conduct, a building, a person to death. 4. reprehension, condemnation, stricture, reproach, animadversion. 5. guilt, culpability, fault, sin.
1, 2. reproach, reprove, reprehend, criticize. Blame, censure, condemn imply finding fault with someone or something. To blame is to hold accountable for, and disapprove because of, some error, mistake, omission, neglect, or the like: Whom do you blame for the disaster? The verb censure differs from the noun in connoting scolding or rebuking even more than adverse criticism: to censure one for extravagance. To condemn is to express an adverse (especially legal) judgment, without recourse: to condemn conduct, a building, a person to death. 4. reprehension, condemnation, stricture, reproach, animadversion. 5. guilt, culpability, fault, sin.
Usage note
Some speakers avoid blame on as informal (He blamed the fight on me), preferring blame alone (He blamed me) or blame for (He blamed me for it). Since all three forms occur with equal frequency in educated usage, they may all be considered equally acceptable.
Some speakers avoid blame on as informal (He blamed the fight on me), preferring blame alone (He blamed me) or blame for (He blamed me for it). Since all three forms occur with equal frequency in educated usage, they may all be considered equally acceptable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To self-blame
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
blame
c.1200, from O.Fr. blasmer (12c., Mod.Fr. blâmer) "to rebuke, reprimand, condemn, criticize," from L.L. blasphemare "revile, reproach" (see blaspheme). Replaced O.E. witan with long "i." The noun is from O.Fr. blasme, a back formation from blasmer.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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