inculpate

in•cul•pate (in-KUHL-peyt, IN-kuhl-peyt)  v

Definition:
to blame; to impute guilt to; to accuse; to involve or implicate in guilt


inculpation noun; inculpatory adjective

Origin:
1799; from M.L. inculpatus, pp. of inculpare "to reproach, blame, censure," from L. in- "in"  + culpare "to blame," from culpa "fault"

Related:
Antonym: exculpate 
Synonyms: blame, accuse, charge, implicate, incriminate, involve
Related Words: culpable

Sentence Examples:
• Joe had to attend the inquest as a witness. He gave his testimony in a simple, sincere, and candid way that gained him sympathy. His men testified in his behalf, trying to wholly exonerate him and inculpate themselves, and the lawyers cleverly scattered blame from one power to another--the city, the State, the fire department, the building department, etc. It became clear that Joe could not be officially punished; it was evident that he had done as much as the run of employers to protect life, and that his intentions had been blameless. -The Nine-Tenths, James Oppenheim

• At last the mate, wearied by the boy's persistence in the same story, and perhaps a little anxious to inculpate the sailors, seized him one day by the collar, and dragging him to the fore, told him that unless he told the truth, in ten minutes from that time he would hang from the yard arm. -Children's Edition of Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer, S. B. Shaw

• It would do you no good to inculpate me, for it would doom us both to instant death as spies; while a supposed burglar would be simply turned over to the law and punished by a term of imprisonment. -Caesar's Column, Ignatius Donnelly

The Storyline
Anna decided to just be quiet, let her father speak and inculpate himself in his own way.

Sources: Wordnik, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day