avoid placing blame

verb phrase

  1. to not say that someone is responsible for a mistake or problem, especially in order to keep a discussion constructive

    B2

    avoid + gerund (-ing form); often followed by 'on' + personneutral

    • "Please avoid placing blame and help us fix the problem."B1
    • "The manager avoided placing blame on any single team member."B2
    • "In a post-mortem, it is more productive to avoid placing blame and focus on systemic causes."C1

Common mistakes

  • avoid to place blame→avoid placing blame

    Avoid is followed by a gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive.

Collocations

place blameapportion blameshift the blametake responsibilityassign blame

Word family

blameblamelessblameworthy