blame

[bleym] /bleɪm/

verb (used with object), blamed, blaming.

to hold responsible; find fault with; censure:

I don't blame you for leaving him.

to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed by on):

I blame the accident on her.

Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse):

Blame the rotten luck.

noun

an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof:

The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.

responsibility for anything deserving of censure:

We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.

Idioms

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.

Related forms

blamer, noun

overblame, verb (used with object), overblamed, overblaming.

self-blame, noun

unblaming, adjective

Can be confused

blame, censure, condemn (see synonym study at the current entry)

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.

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.

Examples from the web for blame

It has become common to place the blame for such problems on foolish multiculturalism-on too much tolerance of alien ways.
For decades, community colleges have tried to shift the blame for low transfer rates to the four year colleges.
The scientists also blame changing weather patterns on global warming.
Paved roads and sprawl are likely to blame for summertime smog buildup.
There are those, however, who still maintain that an external blast was to blame.
If fallen leaves are yellow, overwatering may be to blame.
The hedge funds would have only themselves to blame if they take academic papers and misuse them.
blame is not an end itself but a means to a solution.
Those same groups say hits to water quality such as farm runoff are also to blame.
Don't blame your job, the traffic or your mindless chores.

British Dictionary definitions for blame

blame

/bleɪm/

noun

responsibility for something that is wrong or deserving censure; culpability

an expression of condemnation; reproof

be to blame, to be at fault or culpable

verb (transitive)

(usually foll by for) to attribute responsibility to; accuse: I blame him for the failure

(usually foll by on) to ascribe responsibility for (something) to: I blame the failure on him

to find fault with

Derived Forms

blamable, blameable, adjective
blamably, blameably, adverb

Word Origin

C12: from Old French blasmer, ultimately from Late Latin blasphēmāre to blaspheme

Word Origin and History for blame

c.1200, "find fault with;" c.1300, "lay blame on," from Old French blasmer (12c., Modern French blâmer) "to rebuke, reprimand, condemn, criticize," from Vulgar Latin *blastemare, from Late Latin blasphemare "revile, reproach" (see blaspheme). Replaced Old English witan with long "i." Related: Blamed; blaming.

early 13c., from Old French blasme "blame, reproach; condemnation," a back-formation from blasmer (see blame (v.)).

Idioms and Phrases with blame

blame

see: