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blame

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

blame

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
(blām) pronunciation
tr.v., blamed, blam·ing, blames.
  1. To hold responsible.
  2. To find fault with; censure.
  3. To place responsibility for (something): blamed the crisis on poor planning.
n.
  1. The state of being responsible for a fault or error; culpability.
  2. Censure; condemnation.
idiom:

to blame

  1. Deserving censure; at fault.
  2. Being the cause or source of something: A freak storm was to blame for the power outage.

[Middle English blamen, from Old French blasmer, blamer, from Vulgar Latin *blastēmāre, alteration of Late Latin blasphēmāre, to reproach. See blaspheme.]

blamer blam'er n.

SYNONYMS   blame, fault, guilt. These nouns denote a sense of responsibility for an offense. Blame stresses censure or punishment for a lapse or misdeed for which one is held accountable: The police laid the blame for the accident on the driver. Fault is culpability for wrongdoing or failure: It is my own fault that I wasn't prepared for the exam. Guilt applies to willful wrongdoing and stresses moral culpability: The prosecution had evidence of the defendant's guilt. See also synonyms at criticize.


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Roget's Thesaurus:

blame

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verb

  1. To find fault with: censure, criticize, fault, rap. Informal cut up, pan. Slang knock. See praise/blame.
  2. To ascribe (a misdeed or an error, for example) to: affix, assign, fasten, fix, impute, pin on, place. See give/take/reciprocity.

noun

  1. Responsibility for an error or crime: culpability, fault, guilt, onus. See start/end.
  2. A comment expressing fault: censure, condemnation, criticism, denunciation, reprehension, reprobation. Informal pan. Slang knock. See praise/blame.

Antonyms by Answers.com:

blame

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n

Definition: condemnation
Antonyms: absolution, applause, commendation, exaltation, exculpation, exoneration, forgiveness, praise, thanks, vindication

n

Definition: responsibility for misdeed
Antonyms: acclaim, praise

v

Definition: accuse; place responsibility
Antonyms: applaud, commend, exalt, exculpate, exonerate, praise, thank

Word Tutor:

blame

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - A reproach for some lapse or misdeed; An accusation that you are responsible for some lapse or misdeed. v.- Attribute responsibility to; Accuse; Harass with constant criticism. adj. - Expletives used informally as intensifiers.

pronunciation When you blame others, you give up your power to change. — Dr. Robert Anthony 

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Sign Language Videos:

blame

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sign description: One hand with the A-handshape begins on the top of the flat hand, palm down and pushes away from the body.



Quotes About:

Blame

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Quotes:

"Yes, there are times when something is legitimately not our fault. Blaming others, however, keeps us in a stuck state and is ultimately rough on our own self-esteem." - Eric Allenbaugh

"When we blame, we give away our power." - Greg Anderson

"When you blame others, you give up your power to change." - Dr. Robert Anthony

"In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman." - Lady Nancy Astor

"There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the fault of his feet." - Samuel Beckett

"There can be no doubt that the average man blames much more than he praises. His instinct is to blame. If he is satisfied he says nothing; if he is not, he most illogically kicks up a row." - Arnold Bennett

See more famous quotes about Blame

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'blame'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to blame, see:
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

blame

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Blame.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Blame

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about psychological behavior. For the manga, see Blame!. For the Jamie Foxx and T-Pain song, see Blame It. For the racehorse, see Blame (horse). For the Australian film, see Blame (film).

Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, making negative statements about an individual or group that their action or actions are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for doing something wrong their action is blameworthy. By contrast, when someone is morally responsible for doing something right, we may say that his or her action is praiseworthy. There are other senses of praise and blame that are not ethically relevant. One may praise someone's good dress sense, and blame the weather for a crop failure.

Contents

Sociology and psychology

[icon] This section requires expansion.

We constantly consciously and unconsciously make judgments about other people. Our basis for judging others may be partly ingrained, negative and rigid indicating some degree of grandiosity.

Blaming is also a way of devaluing others. The end result is that the blamer feels superior. Others are seen as less worthwhile making the blamer "perfect". Off-loading blame means putting the other person down by emphasizing his or her flaws.[1]

Self-blame

Victims of manipulation and abuse frequently feel responsible for causing negative feelings in the manipulator/abuser towards them and the resultant anxiety in themselves. This self-blame often becomes a major feature of victim status.

The victim gets trapped into a self-image of victimization. The psychological profile of victimization includes a pervasive sense of helplessness, passivity, loss of control, pessimism, negative thinking, strong feelings of guilt, shame, remorse, self-blame and depression. This way of thinking can lead to hopelessness and despair.[2]

There are two main types of self-blame:

  • behavioral self-blame – undeserved blame based on actions. Victims who experience behavioral self-blame feel that they should have done something differently, and therefore feel at fault.
  • characterological self-blame – undeserved blame based on character. Victims who experience characterological self-blame feel there is something inherently wrong with them which has caused them to deserve to be assaulted.

Behavioral self-blame is associated with feelings of guilt within the victim. While the belief that one had control during the abuse (past control) is associated with greater psychological distress, the belief that one has more control during the recovery process (present control) is associated with less distress, less withdrawal, and more cognitive reprocessing.[3]

Counseling responses found helpful in reducing self-blame are supportive responses, psychoeducational responses (learning about rape trauma syndrome for example) and those responses addressing the issue of blame.[4] A helpful type of therapy for self-blame is cognitive restructuring or cognitive–behavioral therapy. Cognitive reprocessing is the process of taking the facts and forming a logical conclusion from them that is less influenced by shame or guilt.[5]

Victim blaming

Main article: Victim blaming

Victim blaming is holding the victims of a crime, an accident, or any type of abusive maltreatment to be entirely or partially responsible for the unfortunate incident that has occurred in their life.

Blame shifting

[icon] This section requires expansion.

Blaming others can lead to a "kick-the-dog effect" where individuals in a hierarchy blame their immediate subordinate, and this propagates down the hierarchy until the lowest rung (the "dog"). A 2009 experimental study has shown that blaming can be contagious even for uninvolved onlookers.[6]

As a propaganda technique

Blame is closely associated with labeling theory, in that when intentional actors act out to continuously blame an individual for nonexistent psychological traits, and for nonexistent variables, the actors aim to induce irrational guilt at an unconscious level. It is a propaganda tactic, to use repetitive blaming behaviors, innuendos, and hyperbole in order to assign negative status to normative humans. When innocent people are blamed fraudulently for nonexistent psychological states and nonexistent behaviors, and there is no qualifying deviance for the blaming behaviors, the intention is to create a negative valuation of innocent humans to induce fear, by using fear mongering. Blaming in the form of demonization has been used by governments for centuries to influence public perceptions of various other governments, to induce feelings of nationalism in the public. Blame can be utilized to objectify people, groups, and nations, which can typically negatively influence the intended subjects of propaganda, compromising their objectivity. Blame is utilized as a social control technique.

In organizations

See also: Micromanagement

Some systems theorists and management consultants, such as Gerald Weinberg, held that the flow of blame in an organization was itself one of the most important indicators of that organization's robustness and integrity. Blame flowing upwards in a hierarchy, he argued, proved that superiors were willing to take responsibility for their orders to their inferiors, and supplying them with the resources required to do their jobs. But blame flowing downwards, from management to staff, or laterally between professionals, were signs of organizational failure. In a blame culture, problem-solving is replaced by blame-avoidance. Weinberg emphasizes that blame coming from the top generates “fear, malaise, errors, accidents, and passive-aggressive responses from the bottom”, with those at the bottom feeling powerless and in lack of emotional safety.[7]

A no-blame culture has been widely considered as a means to increase safety, in particular in areas where the consideration of possible human error is important, for instance in hospitals and aviation. Together with questions of accountability, this has also been subsumed under the concept of creating a Just culture.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Brown, N.W., Coping With Infuriating, Mean, Critical People – The Destructive Narcissistic Pattern (2006)
  2. ^ Braiker, H.B., Who's Pulling Your Strings? How to Break The Cycle of Manipulation (2006)
  3. ^ Frazier, P.A.; Mortensen, H.; Steward, J. (July 2005). Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relations Among Perceived Control and Distress in Sexual Assault Survivors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 52 Issue 3, pp. 267–78
  4. ^ Matsushita-Arao, Y. (1997). Self-blame and depression among forcible rape survivors. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 57(9-B). p. 5925.
  5. ^ Branscombe, N.R.; Wohl, M.J.A.; Owen, S.; Allison, J.A.; N'gbala, A. (2003). Counterfactual Thinking, Blame Assignment, and Well-Being in Rape Victims. Basic & Applied Social Psychology, 25(4), p. 265, 9p.
  6. ^ Jeanna Bryner: Workplace Blame Is Contagious and Detrimental, LiveScience, 2010-01-19, citing the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
  7. ^ Gerald M. Weinberg: Beyond Blaiming, March 5, 2006, AYE Conference
  8. ^ Phyllis Maguire: Is it time to put “no blame” in the corner?, Today's Hospitalist, December 2009
  9. ^ A Roadmap to a Just Culture: Enhancing the Safety Environment, First Edition, GAIN Working Group E, September 2004

Further reading

  • Douglas, T. Scapegoats: Transferring Blame (1995)
  • Wilcox, C.W. Scapegoat: Targeted for Blame (2009)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blame
v · d · eBullying
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v · d · eAspects of organizations

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Misspellings:

blame

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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Common Misspellings

Common misspelling(s) of blame

  • blaim

Translations:

Blame

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - beskylde, bebrejde
n. - skyld, ansvar

idioms:

  • be to blame for    være skyld i
  • take the blame for    tage skylden for

Nederlands (Dutch)
schuld, afkeuring, verwijt, schuld geven aan, verwijten, verantwoordelijk stellen

Français (French)
v. tr. - rejeter la responsabilité de qch sur qn, condamner, blâmer
n. - faute, responsabilité, blâme, reproches

idioms:

  • be to blame    attribuer la responsabilité
  • I don't blame you    je ne vous en veux pas
  • take the blame    supporter la responsabilité

Deutsch (German)
v. - die Schuld geben
n. - Schuld, Tadel

idioms:

  • be to blame    die Schuld haben an
  • I don't blame you    ich kann es Ihnen nicht verdenken
  • take the blame    die Verantwortung übernehmen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ψέγω, μέμφομαι, κατακρίνω, καταφέρομαι εναντίον, κατηγορώ, ρίχνω την ευθύνη
n. - υπαιτιότητα, ευθύνη, φταίξιμο, μομφή, ψόγος

idioms:

  • be to blame for    φταίω
  • take the blame for    παίρνω (επάνω μου) την ευθύνη για

Italiano (Italian)
rimproverare, dare la colpa a, volerne a, colpa, critica, accusa

idioms:

  • be to blame for    essere responsabile di, essere colpevole di
  • free from blame    scagionare
  • shoulder the blame for    assumere la responsabilità
  • take the blame for    prendere la responsabilità, assumere la responsabilità

Português (Portuguese)
v. - acusar, repreender
n. - responsabilidade (f), culpa (f)

idioms:

  • be to blame for    ser culpado
  • free from blame    livre de acusação
  • take the blame for    responsabilizar-se por

Русский (Russian)
винить, порицать, осуждать, вина, порицание, осуждение

idioms:

  • be to blame for    быть виноватым в чем-либо
  • free from blame    быть безупречным
  • shoulder the blame for    взять вину на себя
  • take the blame for    взять вину на себя

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - culpar, echar la culpa, censurar
n. - culpa, culpabilidad, censura, acusación

idioms:

  • be to blame    tener la culpa, ser el culpable o el responsable por
  • I don't blame you    no te culpo
  • take the blame    aceptar la responsabilidad de

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - klandra, tadla
n. - skuld, klander

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
责备, 归咎于, 指责, 责任

idioms:

  • be to blame for    为...承担责任
  • take the blame for    承担...的责任, 代人受过

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 責備, 歸咎於
n. - 責備, 指責, 責任

idioms:

  • be to blame for    為...承擔責任
  • take the blame for    承擔...的責任, 代人受過

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 남을 비난하다, ~의 책임을 지우다, ~을 저주하다
n. - 비난, 책임

idioms:

  • be to blame for    ~의 잘못이다, ~의 책임이다
  • take the blame for    책임을 지다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - とがめる, 負わせる
n. - 非難, とがめ, 責任

idioms:

  • be to blame for    責めを負うべきである
  • take the blame for    対して責任をとる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) لام, عاتب, وبخ (الاسم) لوم, توبيخ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮האשים, הטיל אשמה על‬
n. - ‮אשמה, גינוי, אחריות‬

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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