blame

I. transitive verb (blamed; blaming) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French blamer, blasmer, from Late Latin blasphemare to blaspheme, from Greek blasphēmein Date: 13th century 1. to find fault with ; censure <

the right to praise or blame a literary work

> 2. a. to hold responsible <

they blame me for everything

> b. to place responsibility for <

blames it on me

> • blamer noun Usage: Use of blame in sense 2b with on has occasionally been disparaged as wrong. Such disparagement is without basis; blame on occurs as frequently in carefully edited prose as blame for. Both are standard. II. noun Date: 13th century 1. an expression of disapproval or reproach ; censure 2. a. a state of being blameworthy ; culpability b. archaic fault, sin 3. responsibility for something believed to deserve censure <

they must share the blame

> • blameless adjective • blamelessly adverb • blamelessness noun