culpability
noun
cul·pa·bil·i·ty
ˌkəl-pə-ˈbi-lə-tē 
: responsibility for wrongdoing or failure : the quality or state of being culpable
moral/legal/criminal culpability
He refuses to acknowledge his own culpability.
Culpability for our failure to reduce petroleum imports falls across the political spectrum.—
Gregg Easterbrook
Gregg EasterbrookExamples of culpability in a Sentence
cannot find culpability where there is neither knowledge that a crime has been committed nor evidence of intent to commit a crime
Recent Examples on the Web
By the final episode, Jamie's decision to change his plea to guilty forces his family to confront his culpability and their role in shaping him.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
But there are challenges facing Smith that did not exist during Dawkins’ tenure and the early years of the Haase era.)
— Despite what many Stanford fans believe, Muir’s culpability in the football program’s regression is far less direct.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
The stark reality of all those graves raised many questions for him about military violence and the moral culpability of those who fought.
—Malcolm Hillgartner Tanya Pérez Lance Neal, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Local state prosecutors will be apprised of the situation should possible criminal culpability play a role in the origin of the pileup, the governor said.
—Erick Mendoza, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culpability
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Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
But there are challenges facing Smith that did not exist during Dawkins’ tenure and the early years of the Haase era.)
— Despite what many Stanford fans believe, Muir’s culpability in the football program’s regression is far less direct.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
The stark reality of all those graves raised many questions for him about military violence and the moral culpability of those who fought.
—Malcolm Hillgartner Tanya Pérez Lance Neal, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Local state prosecutors will be apprised of the situation should possible criminal culpability play a role in the origin of the pileup, the governor said.
—Erick Mendoza, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culpability
Cite this Entry
“Culpability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culpability. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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