culpable
/ˈkʌlpəbəl/adjective
culpable is spelled C-U-L-P-A-B-L-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, culpable means “Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in culpable?
| Letters | 8: C-U-L-P-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,236th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is culpable?
Culpable appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce culpable?
- US /ˈkʌlpəbəl/
- /ˈkʊlpəbəl/
- Australia /ˈkɐlpəbəl/
Culpable has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-culpable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of culpable
- more culpable comparative
- most culpable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does culpable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.
I am culpable for stealing your money.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Culpable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense blameworthy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coupable |
| German | verdammenswert, schuldig, strafbar, verdammungswürdig |
| Portuguese | culpável |
| Spanish | culpable |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does culpable come from?
From Middle English culpable, from Old French culpable, from Latin culpābilis (“blameworthy”), from culpō (“to blame, condemn”), from culpa (“a fault, crime, mistake”). Compare also culprit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).