accusation

(ăk'yū-zā'shən)
n.

1. An act of accusing or the state of being accused.
2. A charge of wrongdoing that is made against a person or other party.

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noun

A charging of someone with a misdeed: charge, denouncement, denunciation, imputation, incrimination. Law indictment. See attack/defend, law, praise/blame.

n

Definition: charge of wrongdoing, fault
Antonyms: exculpation, praise

n

Definition: incrimination
Antonyms: exoneration

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A formal criminal charge against a person alleged to have committed an offense punishable by law, which is presented before a court or a magistrate having jurisdiction to inquire into the alleged crime.

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution provides in part that a person accused of a crime has the right " … to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation." This means that in any federal criminal prosecution, the statute setting forth the crime in the accusation must define the offense in sufficiently clear terms so that an average person will be informed of the acts that come within its scope, and the charge must inform the accused in clear and unambiguous language of the offense with which he or she is being charged under the statute. An accused has the same rights when charged with violating state criminal law because the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has applied the guarantees of the Sixth Amendment to the states. The paper in which the accusation is set forth — such as an indictment, information, or a complaint — is called an accusatory instrument.

See: criminal law.

IN BRIEF: A charge or claim that a person is guilty of a crime.

Mr. Percy's accusation of Daniel was false.

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For a list of words related to accusation, see:

• Laws, Procedures, and Court Proceedings - accusation: charge of wrongdoing

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Accusation.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - beskyldning, anklage

Nederlands (Dutch)
aanklacht, beschuldiging

Français (French)
n. - accusation, (Jur) accusation, plainte

Deutsch (German)
n. - Anklage, Beschuldigung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κατηγορία, μομφή, ψόγος

Italiano (Italian)
accusa, imputazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - acusação (f), denúncia (f)

Русский (Russian)
обвинение

Español (Spanish)
n. - querella, acusación, denuncia, inculpación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - anklagelse, beskyllning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
控告, 指控, 罪名, 指责, 谴责, 非难

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 控告, 指控, 罪名, 指責, 譴責, 非難

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 고소, 죄명, 비난

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 告発, 告訴, 罪, 罪名

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) إتهام, تهمه موجهه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮האשמה, אשמה‬

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