recriminatory
1
9.4
- adjective
- /rɪˈkrɪməˌnɛtəri/
- Formal
- During the discussion, their recriminatory comments only fueled further animosity between the groups.
Examples
-
And Cohen, whose own last case as Criminal Investigation Department chief in Jerusalem before a retirement he didn't want was precisely about a warning for such a thing, was left with his civilian impotence, the bitter taste of self-recriminatory guilt, and the useless feeling of knowing he could say "I told you so" but having nobody to whom to complain.
Fiction book (2000) -
The sight of Myron Walker, with a piping of snow decorating his cap and forming white shoulder-tabs on his coat as he trudged stolidly ahead, filled her with recriminatory feelings.
Fiction book (1999) -
The arguments became so recriminatory that no one was willing to resolve the conflict.
-
The meeting devolved into a recriminatory exchange, with each side blaming the other for the project's failure.
Synonyms
1
8.6
Making someone look guilty of a crime
Full of accusations made in return during an argument
Antonyms
How Accusatory
Surface Forms
Morphology
recriminatory = recriminate (semi-transparent) = recriminate + atory
Formed regularly by adding the adjectival suffix '-atory' to 'recriminate', but the verb 'recriminate' is relatively uncommon, so learners who know the base are likely to understand it but many B1 learners may not.
Etymology
Recriminatory comes from the parts re- meaning 'again' and crimen the same root as crime meaning 'accusation'. So a recriminatory remark is an accusation made back at someone, which is why such talk has people blaming each other.