Meaning & use
finger-pointing
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Meanings
noununcountabledisapproving
Blaming others for a problem instead of looking for solutions or admitting your own part.
Grammar: No plural and no article: there was a lot of finger-pointing.
Patterns
- finger-pointing between someone
- stop the finger-pointing
After the failed launch, there was endless finger-pointing between departments.
Let's stop the finger-pointing and fix the bug.
The report criticized the finger-pointing that delayed the response.
noununcountablerare
The physical act of extending a finger toward a person or thing.
Grammar: Literal and uncommon.
The toddler's finger-pointing showed us which toy she wanted.
Finger-pointing is considered rude in some cultures.
His finger-pointing at the board kept the class on track.
Common combinations
- endless finger-pointing
- The meeting ended in endless finger-pointing.
- stop the finger-pointing
- The coach told the players to stop the finger-pointing.
- engage in finger-pointing
- Leaders should not engage in finger-pointing during a crisis.
- a round of finger-pointing
- A round of finger-pointing followed the audit.
- avoid finger-pointing
- Good teams avoid finger-pointing when mistakes happen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blame game
- Blame game is more informal and treats the whole argument as a pointless contest, while finger-pointing focuses on the act of accusing.
- scapegoating
- Scapegoating means blaming an innocent person on purpose, which is stronger than ordinary finger-pointing.
- recrimination
- Recrimination is a formal word for angry accusations traded back and forth.
- buck-passing
- Buck-passing means avoiding responsibility by handing it to others, rather than openly accusing them.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
After the mistake, the team spent more time on ____ than on finding a fix.
Choose one answer.
Finger-pointing means blaming each other, which fits the idea of wasting time instead of fixing the problem. The other options describe positive or neutral activities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “finger-pointing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.