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
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
So, if the pro-Palestinian students correctly identified their institutions as financial supporters of Zionist genocide, that fact might inform the DA’s determination of criminal culpability.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 June 2024
Legal experts have said the case, which drew national attention, could influence how society views parents' culpability when their children access guns and cause harm with them.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Citing decades of precedence, Chiquita’s attorneys have long argued against its culpability, citing jurisdiction issues, the specificity of the allegations, causation, the inapplicability of U.S. laws, lack of standing, and so on.
—Jack Werner / Made By History, TIME, 18 June 2024
All five defendants were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but the trial did not put to rest questions of moral culpability.
—Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for culpability 
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 June 2024
Legal experts have said the case, which drew national attention, could influence how society views parents' culpability when their children access guns and cause harm with them.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Citing decades of precedence, Chiquita’s attorneys have long argued against its culpability, citing jurisdiction issues, the specificity of the allegations, causation, the inapplicability of U.S. laws, lack of standing, and so on.
—Jack Werner / Made By History, TIME, 18 June 2024
All five defendants were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but the trial did not put to rest questions of moral culpability.
—Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for culpability
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'culpability.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near culpability
Cite this Entry
“Culpability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culpability. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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