Definition

Noun: * A formal acknowledgment of one's own error, fault, or guilt. It is an admission of "my fault" or "my mistake."

Usage

"Mea culpa" is used to accept blame or responsibility for a wrongdoing. It is a formal, often public, admission of error. * It is typically used as a standalone declaration or as the object of a verb like "issue" or "offer." * It originates from Latin and retains its original form in English, making it a loan phrase.

Examples

• The CEO issued a mea culpa for the company's oversight.
• After the incorrect data was published, the journalist offered a sincere mea culpa.
• His entire speech was one long mea culpa for the failed policy.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used performatively in a religious context, specifically in the Confiteor prayer of the Catholic liturgy, where "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" ("through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault") is recited.

Variants and Related Words

• Apology (n): A more general word for a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.
• Confession (n): A formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime or responsible for a mistake.
• Acknowledgement (n): Acceptance of the truth or existence of something, which can include an error.

Synonyms

• Admission of guilt
• Confession
• Apology
• Own goal (informal, chiefly British)

Related Idioms

• To eat humble pie: To make a humble apology and accept humiliation. (This is an idiom with a similar meaning of admitting error, though it implies more humiliation than the formal "mea culpa.")

Noun

1. an acknowledgment of your error or guilt