incriminate
verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt 
incriminated; incriminating
: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault
Did you know?
Testimony may incriminate a suspect by placing him at the scene of a crime, and incriminating evidence is the kind that strongly links him to it. But the word doesn't always refer to an actual crime. We can say, for instance, that a virus has been incriminated as the cause of a type of cancer, or that video games have been incriminated in the decline in study skills among young people.
Synonyms
Examples of incriminate in a Sentence
Material found at the crime scene incriminates the defendant.
in exchange for a reduced sentence, the thief agreed to incriminate his accomplice
Recent Examples on the Web
Pensacola police arrested Jeremy Lang on Oct. 14 and linked him to seven area church robberies through surveillance footage and his 'incriminating' iPhone search history.
—
Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
Further, attempting to delete evidence of distraction doesn’t erase accountability and can further incriminate you.
—Lars Daniel, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024
The president’s subsequent hasty exile baffled many of his supporters and led to conjecture that perhaps there were incriminating videos of him as well.
—Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
On Wednesday, Gull heard testimony on a defense motion to suppress more than 60 incriminating statements Allen made in early 2023 to his family and others at the prison where he was kept in solitary confinement.
—Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incriminate 
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Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
Further, attempting to delete evidence of distraction doesn’t erase accountability and can further incriminate you.
—Lars Daniel, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024
The president’s subsequent hasty exile baffled many of his supporters and led to conjecture that perhaps there were incriminating videos of him as well.
—Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
On Wednesday, Gull heard testimony on a defense motion to suppress more than 60 incriminating statements Allen made in early 2023 to his family and others at the prison where he was kept in solitary confinement.
—Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incriminate
Dictionary Entries Near incriminate
Cite this Entry
“Incriminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incriminate. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incriminate
verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkrim-ə-ˌnāt
incriminated; incriminating
1
: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault : accuse
2
: to cause to appear guilty of or responsible for something
evidence that tends to incriminate the defendant
Legal Definition
incriminate
transitive verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt
incriminated; incriminating
1
: to charge with involvement in a crime
he was incriminated in the conspiracy
2
: to suggest or show involvement of in a crime
among the evidence that incriminated him was a box of trigger devices
see also self-incrimination
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