What does crimination mean?
Crimination is a rare and formal English noun meaning the act of accusing a person of a crime, or an accusation itself. It derives from the Latin 'crimen', meaning charge or offence, the same root that gives us 'crime', 'criminal', and 'incriminate'. Although it has largely been displaced in modern usage by 'accusation' and 'incrimination', crimination survives in legal writing and in literary prose, where its slightly archaic ring lends weight to discussions of guilt and blame. It should not be confused with its better-known relatives formed by prefixing: 'recrimination', a counter-charge returned in kind during a dispute, and 'discrimination', which has drifted to mean unjust differential treatment. A related reflexive form, 'self-crimination', describes the act of laying blame upon oneself. For readers encountering it today, crimination is best understood as the plain, unadorned act of pointing the finger of criminal guilt at another person.
nounThe act of accusing someone of a crime, or the act of incriminating; also, a charge or accusation of wrongdoing.
- The act of accusing someone of a crime; incrimination.
- A formal charge or accusation brought against a person (now rare).
"His letter was less a defence than a self-crimination, cataloguing every mistake he believed he had made."
"The report avoided outright crimination of any single official, though its implications were clear."
"In his memoir he writes with unusual candour about moments of self-crimination that followed the scandal."
The plural is rare, typically appearing when referring to multiple distinct accusations or charges.
"The pamphlet was a catalogue of criminations levelled against the ministry."
Crimination is the quiet parent of two far more famous words: add 're-' and you get the counter-blasts of a quarrel; add 'dis-' and you get injustice — but on its own it simply means pointing a finger.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crimination
Crimination comes from the Latin verb 'criminare', meaning to accuse or charge, formed from 'crimen', meaning a charge, offence, or crime. It entered English in the early seventeenth century, alongside the related verb 'criminate'. Its closest relatives include 'crime' and 'criminal', from the same Latin root, and the prefixed forms 'incrimination' and 'recrimination', which are now far more common than the base word.
Related word forms
How crimination is actually used
A rare, formal word found mainly in legal and literary contexts. In everyday use, 'accusation' or 'incrimination' is preferred. The reflexive form 'self-crimination' appears in older and literary writing.
Easily confused with crimination
Recrimination is a counter-accusation made in response to an accusation, whereas crimination is the accusation itself.
Discrimination means unjust treatment based on categories such as race or gender, while crimination refers to charging or accusing someone of a crime.