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recrimination

recrimination

20 8.3
Mutual accusations between two people or groups
  • noun
  • /rɪˌkrɪməˈneɪʃən/
  • Formal
translation icon : recriminación
  • During their heated argument, the two lawyers exchanged harsh recriminations about each other's tactics.
  • mutual recriminations
  • bitter recriminations
  • self-recrimination

He faces tremendous recrimination at UCSF for having gone this commercial route.

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Examples

  • You see, this is why we're calling this to an end, because this is turning out to be nothing but a series of bitter recriminations.

  • When things blow up in Elaine's lab, we never spend very much time on recrimination and negative energy.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • But with each new death of a constable came more recrimination and violence.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Yeah, well, six months of finger pointing and recrimination happened.

  • I started to tell them to lay off the detective stuff, but the possibility for recrimination seemed immense.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Lots of support, no recriminations, none of that stuff about making your bed and lying in it.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • We should feel no more danger of recrimination or risk of censure than a young child.

  • It is my hope that tonight we can create a forum... where people can talk freely without fear of recrimination.

  • When husband and wife did finally meet, between William's journeyings, recrimination was followed by tearful reconciliation.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Another three weeks passed; heat, thirst, and recriminations further sapped morale.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

reproach
vsrecrimination
23 7.2

A remark that shows criticism or disappointment in someone's actions

is an exchange of accusations rather than general criticism or disapproval
mudslinging
vsrecrimination
  • Literature
9 4.8

Making unfair personal attacks to damage someone's reputation in politics

is a reciprocal accusation exchange not limited to politics or malice
incrimination
vsrecrimination
7 7.5

An accusation that someone committed a crime

is an exchange of accusations between parties rather than a single legal charge
countercharge
vsrecrimination
4 8.0

An accusation that someone makes in reply to shift blame

is a mutual exchange of accusations between both parties

Antonyms

333 2.2

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

How Accusatory

vilification
  • Formal
6 8.4
denunciation
12 7.4
recrimination
  • Formal
20 8.3
accusation
394 3.1
allegation
  • Literature
579 4.8

Surface Forms

recrimination singular

Morphology

recrimination = recriminate (opaque) = re + crimin + ate + ion

The noun is a straightforward nominalization of the verb 'recriminate', meaning the act or process of making counteraccusations.

Etymology

Recrimination comes from the parts re- meaning 'back' and crimen meaning 'accusation' or 'crime', like in the word crime. So a recrimination is an accusation sent back to the person who accused you, which is why it means people blaming each other.