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
Agents also examined Segovia’s WhatsApp account and reported finding hundreds of incriminating messages.
—
Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2025
In that phase, lawyers for Harry and another plaintiff, Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, were planning to establish widespread and deeply rooted misconduct by editors and reporters at The Sun, as well as efforts to purge incriminating emails.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Sanders discovered that a jailhouse informant had been improperly used to garner incriminating evidence against Dekraai — along with other defendants — despite Dekraai having been formally charged and represented by an attorney.
—Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 17 Jan. 2025
However, in what may become a new norm, the notoriously sharp elbowed Jones’ filing, like Lively’s filing late last week with the California Civil Rights department is chock-full of seemingly incriminating texts between the now defendants.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Dec. 2024
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Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2025
In that phase, lawyers for Harry and another plaintiff, Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, were planning to establish widespread and deeply rooted misconduct by editors and reporters at The Sun, as well as efforts to purge incriminating emails.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Sanders discovered that a jailhouse informant had been improperly used to garner incriminating evidence against Dekraai — along with other defendants — despite Dekraai having been formally charged and represented by an attorney.
—Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 17 Jan. 2025
However, in what may become a new norm, the notoriously sharp elbowed Jones’ filing, like Lively’s filing late last week with the California Civil Rights department is chock-full of seemingly incriminating texts between the now defendants.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Dec. 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 31 Jan. 2025.
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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