acusar

to accuse

verb ah-koo-SAHR Less Common

Also means

to acknowledge receipt

Usage Note

Acusar most commonly means 'to accuse' in legal or personal contexts, but in formal writing acusar recibo is an established idiom meaning 'to acknowledge receipt' (of a letter, email, or document). The noun acusado/acusada means 'the accused' or 'defendant'. Unlike English 'accuse', it takes de before the offence: lo acusaron de robo.

Examples

"Lo acusaron de robo en el juicio."

Natural Translation

They accused him of theft in the trial.

Literal Translation

Him they-accused of theft in the trial

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