fingerpointing

6.1

Telling others they are to blame, often in public

noun
/ˈfɪŋɡərˌpɔɪntɪŋ/

Informal

: señalamiento

Instead of fingerpointing, we should focus on finding a solution to the problem.

Examples

After the project failed, there was a lot of fingerpointing among the team members.
There was a lot of fingerpointing after the incident.
Political debates often devolve into useless fingerpointing rather than constructive discussion.
The committee's fingerpointing only made the situation worse.
During the meeting, there was a lot of fingerpointing about who was responsible for the project's failure.
The coach criticized the team for their fingerpointing instead of working together to find a solution.
In discussions about the accident, fingerpointing only escalated tensions instead of addressing the issue.

Synonyms

finger-pointing

vsfingerpointing

Informal

18 4.6

Blaming other people for a problem instead of trying to fix it

is the same in meaning but differs in wording or emphasis

blame game

vsfingerpointing

Informal

17 4.8

People or groups say others caused a problem to avoid taking responsibility

is the act of assigning blame publicly rather than a mutual ongoing situation

incrimination

vsfingerpointing

7 7.5

An accusation that someone committed a crime

is broader and applies to public blame beyond criminal accusations

imputation

vsfingerpointing

3 8.8

An accusation that someone did something wrong

is used more for public or accusatory blaming rather than neutral attribution

buck-passing

vsfingerpointing

1 7.1

Act of putting blame on others to avoid doing a job you should do

is focused on public blame rather than avoiding responsibility

Antonyms

forgiveness

333 2.2

An act of letting go of anger toward someone after they hurt you

How Accusatory

accusation

394 3.1

fingerpointing

Informal

6.1

criticism

512 3.0

Surface Forms

fingerpointing singular

fingerpointings plural

Morphology

fingerpointing = finger + point (transparent) = finger + point + ing

The compound 'finger' + 'point' with the verbal sense 'point' plus '-ing' directly denotes the act of pointing a finger (i.e., blaming), which learners can infer from the components.

Etymology

Fingerpointing comes from the clear image of using your finger to point at someone, a way 'to show' who is at fault. So fingerpointing means blaming others, often in public or in an angry way.