Culpability

Meaning

Responsibility for a fault or wrong; the state of deserving blame or censure for an action or failure to act.

Origin / Etymology

Latin culpa (fault, blame) + -bilis (capable of)

Synonyms

Guilt Liability Accountability

Antonyms

Innocence Blamelessness

Example Sentence

"The National Green Tribunal established corporate culpability in the Vizag gas leak disaster, ordering Hindustan Zinc to pay Rs 50 crore in interim compensation."

🎯 UPSC Usage

Use in GS3 Environment and GS4 Ethics answers when discussing corporate environmental liability, disaster accountability, or governance failures. Also relevant in GS2 when discussing the principle of sovereign immunity vs state accountability.

Relevant Subjects