fault — OAT · Shobdo

fault

noun

1 he has his faults, but he's a good man:

defect, failing, imperfection, flaw, blemish, shortcoming, weakness, weak point, weak spot, frailty, foible, vice, limitation, lack, deficiency, Achilles heel, chink in one's armor.

▷antonyms merit, strength.

2 engineers have still not located the fault:

defect, flaw, imperfection, snag;

error, mistake, inaccuracy, oversight, blunder, gaffe, slip;

Computing bug;

informal glitch, gremlin, slip-up, boo-boo, howler, foul-up;

British, informal cock-up, boob, clanger, snarl-up.

3 it was my fault for being late:

responsibility, liability, culpability, blameworthiness, guilt;

accountability, answerability;

informal rap.

4 don't blame one child for another's faults:

misdeed, wrongdoing, offense, misdemeanor, misconduct, sin, vice, lapse, indiscretion, peccadillo, transgression, trespass.

□ at fault

police say the driver was not at fault:

to blame, blameworthy, blameable, censurable, reproachable;

culpable, accountable, answerable;

responsible, guilty, in the wrong, offending, erring, errant.

▷antonyms innocent.

□ find fault with

someone who enjoys finding fault with everything and putting people down:

fault, find lacking;

criticize, attack, censure, condemn, impugn, reproach, reprove, run down, take to task, haul over the coals;

complain about, quibble about, carp about, moan about, grouse about, grouch about, whine about, arraign;

Northern English mither, twine;

informal knock, slam, hammer, lay into, gripe about, beef about, bellyache about, bitch about, nitpick over, pick holes in, sound off about;

British, informal slag off, have a go at, whinge about, give some stick to, slate, rubbish.

□ to a fault

Barry's generous to a fault:

excessively, unduly, immoderately, overly, in the extreme, out of all proportion, overmuch, needlessly;

informal over the top, OTT.

verb

you couldn't fault any of the players:

find fault with, find lacking;

criticize, attack, censure, condemn, impugn, reproach, reprove, run down, take to task, haul over the coals;

complain about, quibble about, carp about, moan about, grouse about, grouch about, whine about, arraign;

informal knock, slam, hammer, lay into, gripe about, beef about, bellyache about, bitch about, nitpick over, pick holes in, sound off about;

British, informal slag off, have a go at, whinge about, give some stick to, slate, rubbish.