contributory negligencenoun [ U ]
uk/kənˌtrɪb.jʊ.tər.i ˈneɡ.lɪ.dʒəns/us/kənˌtrɪb.jə.tɔːr.i ˈneɡ.lɪ.dʒəns/UK specializeda judgment in court that a person who has been hurt in an accident was partly responsible for their own injuries because they failed to act in a way that could have prevented the accident or the injuries
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Blaming & accusing
- a bad workman blames his tools idiom
- accusation
- accusatory
- accusing
- allegation
- attribute
- attribution
- carry
- chalk sth up
- charge
- face the music idiom
- finger-pointing
- frame
- hang
- haul sb up
- indictment
- opprobrium
- recrimination
- stitch sb up
- thank sb for sth idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Court cases, orders & decisions
Examples from literature
- It has to be proved that actual injury has been sustained by the complainant before an action for damages can be commenced, and that the plaintiff was free from all contributory negligence.