exonerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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exonerates,
present (3rd person singular)
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exonerated,
past participle, past
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exonerating
present participle
verb
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to clear or absolve from blame or a criminal charge
-
to relieve from an obligation or task; exempt
Synonym Usage
See absolve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exoneratesimple
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exoneratessimple
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have exoneratedperfect
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has exoneratedperfect
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am exoneratingprogressive
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are exoneratingprogressive
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is exoneratingprogressive
-
have been exoneratingperfect progressive
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has been exoneratingperfect progressive
Past
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exoneratedsimple
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had exoneratedperfect
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was exoneratingprogressive
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were exoneratingprogressive
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had been exoneratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exonerate
First recorded in 1515–25; late Middle English, from Latin exonerātus (past participle of exonerāre “to unburden, discharge”), equivalent to ex- “out of, from; thoroughly” + oner- (stem of onus ) “a burden” + -ātus past participle suffix; see ex- 1, -ate 1
Explanation
To exonerate someone is to declare him not guilty of criminal charges. This word is pretty much only used in reference to proceedings in a court of law. A word with a similar meaning that might be familiar is “acquit.” When your next door neighbor was arrested for painting smiley faces on the front doors of all the houses on your block, evidence to exonerate him was discovered when the police found a young hooligan from the next street over with a basement full of paint canisters. The verb comes from the Latin exonerat-, meaning “freed from burden.” A criminal charge is certainly a burden, and when you're exonerated, you're freed from that burden.
Vocabulary lists containing exonerate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Great Expectations
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Just Mercy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Federal officials stressed that this did not suddenly exonerate the lettuce.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
These numbers exonerate this summer’s usual suspects of the long-run crime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
"We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence," he told the magazine, calling on African leaders to improve governance.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Hank’s not wrong that a man in his defensive crouch can’t exonerate himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
But then I remember that Caleb is still there, because he was a well-known lackey of Jeanine Matthews, and the factionless will never exonerate him.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
An Oklahoma judge exonerates a man who spent nearly 50 years in prison on murder charges, the longest serving inmate to be declared innocent of the crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
He said in a statement earlier this week that he believed the report "exonerates me of all responsibility."
From Reuters ● Apr. 21, 2023
While this story might be basically accurate, I don’t think it exonerates SBF the way he seems to think it does.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2023
In their early exchanges, the two discussed the death of George Floyd a month earlier, and the Innocence Project, which exonerates wrongfully convicted individuals.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2021
I can think of no answer that exonerates me.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
We know that over the past half-century, more than 200 people have been exonerated after having been sentenced to die, and scholars estimate that 4 percent of those sentenced to death are innocent.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
These include cases in which the men were exonerated through DNA or blood evidence and others in which police are accused of fabricating evidence.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
It pointed to a recent decision by the High Court in London that largely exonerated Renault and four other carmakers from charges that the devices were designed to cheat clean air laws.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
He alleged that the judge had ignored "clear evidence" that would have exonerated Boasiako.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
He was exonerated, because two other employees who were supposed to be supervising the kids with him had not turned up for work.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Ten years later, a district court judge ruled that he was factually innocent and threw out his conviction, citing the suppression of exonerating evidence by police, among other factors.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Only in 1906, after many twists, did the high court of appeal overturn the original verdict, exonerating Dreyfus.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
"I think the idea of looking at video games and movies and so on, it's just a way of exonerating the people who are really profiting from the violence."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2024
Peterson’s attempt to clear his name is now backed by the Los Angeles Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal group with a reputation for exonerating wrongfully convicted criminals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
Signor," replied Monte-Leone, "it is because I recognize the great importance of the cause, that I confide to this man the duty of exonerating me from it.
From The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
