# accuse

Pronunciation: say "uh-KYOOZ" US /əˈkjuz/, UK /əˈkjuːz/

## Verb

1. To formally charge a person with having committed a crime or offense.
   - Simple: To say that someone has done something wrong or broken the law.
   - _Prosecutors accused the company of falsifying its financial records._
   - _The witness was reluctant to accuse anyone directly without firm proof._
2. To find fault with someone, blaming or criticizing them for something.
   - Simple: To blame someone, saying they did something wrong.
   - _He accused his colleagues of ignoring the early warning signs._
   - _Critics accuse the studio of recycling the same tired ideas._
3. To make an accusation against another person.
   - Simple: To make a claim that another person has done something wrong.
   - _He tends to accuse before hearing the full story._
   - _It is dangerous to accuse without solid evidence._

## Noun

4. A charge or claim that someone has committed a wrong. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A claim that someone has done something wrong.
   - _The bishop dismissed the accuse as the work of jealous rivals._
   - _An accuse once spoken aloud could ruin a merchant's good name._

## Origin

First attested around 1300, it comes from Middle English acusen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsō ('to call to account, accuse'), formed from ad ('to') and causa ('cause, lawsuit, reason'). It is akin to 'cause' and displaced the native English word bewray.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/accuse (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).