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
-
exoneratesimple
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exoneratessimple
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have exoneratedperfect
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has exoneratedperfect
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am exoneratingprogressive
-
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
-
was exoneratingprogressive
-
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
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Great Expectations
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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:
He died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1937, at the age of 82—four months before the ruling that would exonerate him of the fraud charges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Anna, ironically, works for a nonprofit that seeks to exonerate the wrongly convicted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 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
While it’s true, as EduBirdie told Salon, that many of the online influencers peddling the “tradwife” life are actually paid professionals who make money off creating content, this hypocrisy doesn’t exonerate them.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
“That isn’t her doing,” Lazlo said, not to dismiss the threat, but at least to exonerate Sarai.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Thomas and Gorsuch expressed serious doubts that the statute actually exonerates platforms for “deliberately structuring” in a way that could “facilitate” illegal and dangerous activity.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
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
Body camera footage is more routinely made public, whether it exonerates the officers or raises questions.
From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2023
I can think of no answer that exonerates me.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
But now, authorities have officially exonerated him — acknowledging his innocence in the 1998 Fullerton heist that robbed him of nearly two decades of his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
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
Malcolm Alexander spent nearly 38 years in prison before being exonerated through DNA evidence in 2018.
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 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
Brian Atlas of the “Whatever” podcast posted a video of the alleged victim drinking with Peters, as if it were exonerating evidence instead of bolstering the criminal case against him.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 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
They complained that taking a statement from Pycroft when he was still under the "shadow of prosecution for murder" meant he had a "powerful incentive" to give an account "implicating" Hutchinson and "exonerating himself".
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 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
But the suspicion against him getting into the newspapers, he demanded from Whately a public statement exonerating him.
From The True Benjamin Franklin by Sydney George Fisher
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
