The extent of one's guilt in an offence or wrongdoing: Except for strict liability crimes, the type and severity of punishment often follow the degree of culpability.

In explanations and predictions of human action and inaction culpability is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible.

Culpability marks the dividing line between moral evil, like murder, for which someone may be held responsible, and natural evil, like earthquakes, for which no one can be held responsible.