allegation

[al-i-gey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of alleging; affirmation.

   Synonyms: contention, claim, accusation, charge

2. an assertion made with little or no proof.

   Synonyms: contention, claim, accusation, charge

3. an assertion made by a party in a legal proceeding, which the party then undertakes to prove.

4. a statement offered as a plea, excuse, or justification.

allegation

/ ˌælɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of alleging

2. an unproved statement or assertion, esp one in an accusation

Other Word Forms

• misallegation noun
• nonallegation noun
• preallegation noun
• reallegation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of allegation¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin allēgātiōn- (stem of allēgātiō ), equivalent to allēgāt ( us ), past participle of allēgāre to adduce in support of a plea ( al- al- + -lēgāre, derivative of lēx law; legal ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Registrar of Voters faced attacks over the integrity of the 2024 election after unfounded allegations of forged signatures, non-U.S. citizens voting and duplicated ballots circulated on social media.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s the largest settlement known for a copyright case, signaling to other tech companies facing copyright infringement allegations that they might have to pay rights holders eventually as well.

From Los Angeles Times

A five-year audit of California’s judicial watchdog agency found it failed to thoroughly probe allegations of misconduct and ignored patterns of wrongdoing by some judges.

From Los Angeles Times

“Each count must identify the particular legal basis for liability and contain specific factual allegations that support each cause of action within each count,” Cannon wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

This week, the Athletic reported allegations that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard $28 million for a job with no responsibilities, in an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accusation 
• charge 
• claim 
• plea 
• statement 

When To Use

What does allegation mean?

An allegation is an accusation or claim that something wrong has been done, especially a crime. The word often implies that the thing claimed has not been confirmed or proven or that the claim has been made without proof or before proof is available.Allegation is the noun form of the verb allege, meaning to claim without proof or before proof is available. Related forms include the adjective alleged and the adverb allegedly.The word allegation is most commonly used in a legal context, especially in journalism in reports about a person who has been accused of a crime or other wrongdoing but who has not been convicted. Using the word allegation allows journalists to talk about accusations without seeming to presume guilt (and getting sued for libel).Example: We will prove that the allegations against my client are absolutely baseless.