guilty party
One who's blamed
The guilty party is the person or group responsible for a wrongdoing, crime, or offense.
The phrase appears in legal contexts but also in everyday accusations: We need to find the guilty party before this happens again.
It can be used lightly: Who's the guilty party that ate all the cookies?
- accusedCharged with wrongdoing
- prime suspectMost probable perpetrator
- culpritPerson found guilty
- bad guyAntagonist in stories
- wrongdoerPerson who misbehaves
perpetrator · caught red-handed · convict · offender · accomplice · usual suspects · pointing fingers · transgressor · victimizer · felon · mastermind · confessor · plea deal · defendant · ringleader · criminal · penitent · lawbreaker
- mysteryclue, detective, suspect, clues, sleuth
- accountabilityaccountability, responsibility, accountable, take responsibility, answerability
- suspectssuspect, accused, prime suspect, person of interest, alleged
guilty partyinnocent bystander
Uninvolved person harmed incidentally
scapegoat · fall guy · patsy · innocent · third party
guilty partyvictim
One harmed by another
injured party · complainant · plaintiff · accuser · sufferer
party, guilt, guilty, gilt, guiltiness