j'accuse

Definition

An accusation, especially one made publicly.

Etymology

Borrowing from French J'Accuse ("I accuse"), the title of an 1898 open letter from writer Emile Zola to the president of France during the Dreyfus Affair.

Example Sentences

• "It was a rare combination of circumstances that led Cramer to agree to sit still and listen to Stewart engage in his j'accuse."
• "Buried within Dudley's petition, then, was a veiled ‘j'accuse’."
• "In his j’accuse, Mattis excoriates the president for setting Americans against one another."

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