culpable

Blameworthy; involving the commission of a fault or the breach of a duty imposed by law.

Culpability generally implies that an act performed is wrong but does not involve any evil intent by the wrongdoer. The connotation of the term is fault rather than malice or a guilty purpose. It has limited significance in Criminal Law except in cases of reckless Homicide in which a person acts negligently or demonstrates a reckless disregard for life, which results in another person's death. In general, however, culpability has milder connotations. It is used to mean reprehensible rather than wantonly or grossly negligent behavior. Culpable conduct may be wrong but it is not necessarily criminal.

Culpable ignorance is the lack of knowledge or understanding that results from the omission of ordinary care to acquire such knowledge or understanding.

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culpable adj. sufficiently responsible for criminal acts or negligence to be at fault and liable for the conduct. Sometimes culpability rests on whether the person realized the wrongful nature of his/her actions and thus should take the blame.

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culpable adjective accusable, at fault, blamable, blameworthy, censurable, chargeable, condemnable, criminal, criminous, culpandus, delinquent, deservvng blame, deserving censure, discreditable, dishonest, dissolute, encroaching, felonious, guilty, having violated the law, improper, in error, in the wrong, indictable, indiscreet, lawbreaking, lawless, meriting censure, meriting condemnation, misdemeanant, peccant, punishable, transgressing, unrighteous, worthy of blame, wrong

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See also: at fault, blameful, blameworthy, contemptible, delinquent, disobedient, felonious, guilty, iniquitous, peccable, reprehensible, reprobate, sinister, unjustifiable