culpability

noun

cul·​pa·​bil·​i·​ty ˌkəl-pə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce culpability (audio)
: 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

Examples 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Last season, viewers watched Matty Matlock go undercover at Jacobson Moore, an elite law firm in New York City, to investigate its culpability in the opioid epidemic. Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 May 2025 Here’s where the culpability deepens, Democratic leaders knew. Doug Friednash, Denver Post, 21 May 2025 That is a mischaracterization of facts put forth by the Sheriff's Department to help ease their own culpability. Alex Sundby, CBS News, 21 May 2025 The producer compares the culpability of Chief of staff Kristina Khorram to that of Jeffrey Epstein’s confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for culpability

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of culpability was in 1652

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Cite this Entry

“Culpability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culpability. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on culpability

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