Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To incriminate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To charge with a crime; declare to be guilty of a crime.
  • To involve in the commission or the consequences of a crime; incriminate; reflexively, manifest or disclose the commission of crime by.
  • To censure or hold up to censure; inveigh against or blame as criminal; impugn.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To accuse of, or charge with, a crime.
  • transitive verb To involve in a crime or in its consequences; to render liable to a criminal charge.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To accuse, incriminate, impeach.
  • verb transitive To rebuke, censure, reprimand.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb bring an accusation against; level a charge against
  • verb rebuke formally

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin crīminārī, crīmināt-, to accuse, from crīmen, crīmin-, accusation; see crime.]

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Examples

  • Director H. Bruce H.mberstone and cinematographer Edward Cronjager were prolific hacks who began in silent pictures and ended on television, their careers defined by indis criminate efficiency.

    Calling All Culturati: James Wolcott Wolcott, James, 1952- 2009

  • Xanne Joi has the right to criminate, but the rest of us have a right to recriminate.

    Sorry, Pal 2008

  • Hebert conceived the infamous idea of wringing from this boy revelations to criminate his unhappy mother.

    The Trial Of Marie-Antoinette 14 Oct. 1793 de Brantigny........................ 2007

  • London, and was considered as offending against the six articles, and was taken to the Tower, and put upon the rack — probably because it was hoped that she might, in her agony, criminate some obnoxious persons; if falsely, so much the better.

    A Child's History of England 2007

  • As the spirit of party, in different degrees, must be expected to infect all political bodies, there will be, no doubt, persons in the national legislature willing enough to arraign the measures and criminate the views of the majority.

    Archive 2007-01-01 Glenn Greenwald 2007

  • Hebert conceived the infamous idea of wringing from this boy revelations to criminate his unhappy mother.

    Archive 2007-10-14 de Brantigny........................ 2007

  • To work this sportive vein still further, Mr Brass, by his counsel, moved in arrest of judgment that he had been led to criminate himself, by assurances of safety and promises of pardon, and claimed the leniency which the law extends to such confiding natures as are thus deluded.

    The Old Curiosity Shop 2007

  • ‘I suppose, Sir,’ said Mr. Pickwick, his indignation rising while he spoke — ‘I suppose, Sir, that it is the intention of your employers to seek to criminate me upon the testimony of my own friends?’

    The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club 2007

  • How far you may be implicated in this last transaction, or how far the person who is now in custody may criminate you, you best know.

    Nicholas Nickleby 2007

  • As the spirit of party, in different degrees, must be expected to infect all political bodies, there will be, no doubt, persons in the national legislature willing enough to arraign the measures and criminate the views of the majority.

    Our Supreme General has spoken Glenn Greenwald 2007

Comments

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  • 'Although there may be other particulars of a public nature, tending to criminate this person, I do not think a larger and more copious catalogue is necessary to be exhibited to this worshipful bench; because the proof of all will lie before a court of superior jurisdiction.'

    —Robert Bage, 1796, Hermsprong

    March 22, 2009