Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

criminate

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: crim-i-nate
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To accuse (someone) of a crime; to incriminate.

Transitive verb

verb

To rebuke or censure (someone).

Archaic; Transitive verb

adj

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"‘I am now under confinement in this place for debt; but if you obtain […] a condition from the judge that what I reveal shall not criminate myself, I will make discoveries that shall confound that same Marquis […].’"
"In Germany, I had heard little of this terrible gang, and I had paid no greater heed to the stories related once or twice about them in Carlsruhe than one does to tales about ogres. But here in their very haunts, I learnt the full amount of the terror they inspired. No one would be legally responsible for any evidence criminating the murderer."
"If this bee a crime to call Vanitie, Vanitie: the wisest man that euer was before Christ was herein criminate, not when hee strayed, but when hee repented."

Etymology

First attested circa 1591; borrowed from Latin crīminātus, perfect passive participle of crīminō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Word Breakdown

Root: *krey-

Usage

Inflected Forms

criminates (present, singular) criminating (participle, present) criminated (participle, past) criminated (past) more criminate (comparative) most criminate (superlative)

Derived Forms

accriminate

Frequently Paired Words

discriminate incriminate recriminate

Synonyms

arraign charge incriminate accriminate accuse appeach becry tax criminate have up inculpate indict

Questions

What does criminate mean?: To accuse (someone) of a crime; to incriminate.
Where does criminate come from?: First attested circa 1591; borrowed from Latin crīminātus, perfect passive participle of crīminō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

How to pronounce criminate

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