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
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
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
Still, the political fights over a broader culpability will likely rage on in the days to come.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 31 Jan. 2025
Even when confronted by Hector's niece Angela (Camila Rodriguez) the subject of his culpability doesn't come up.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culpability
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Cite this Entry
“Culpability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culpability. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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