exonerated

[ ig-zon-uh-rey-tid ]

adjective

1. having been cleared of an accusation or freed from blame:

   After years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, the exonerated man walks out of the prison gates and into the light of day.

noun

1. Usually the exonerated. a person or persons who have been cleared of an accusation or freed from blame:

   She is currently the director of a nonprofit that advocates against the death penalty and for the exonerated.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of exonerate ( def ).

Other Words From

• un·ex·on·er·at·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exonerated¹

exonerate ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

Her opponent, Franky Carrillo, is a criminal justice reform advocate who was exonerated on a wrongful murder conviction.

From Los Angeles Times

She’s since been exonerated in the court of public opinion, but Stewart hasn’t forgiven the men who used her conviction to further their political careers, including James Comey.

From Salon

Although Trump’s pardon exonerated the couple from criminal offenses, Hunter still had to pay a $12,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission.

From Slate

And he invoked Trump’s statements about the Central Park Five, a group of black and Latino men who were wrongly convicted of assaulting a jogger in 1989 and exonerated years later.

From BBC

Public figures such as the Exonerated Five have to clear the high hurdle of proving the defendant acted knowing the defamatory statement was false, or with “conscious disregard” as to whether the statement is true or false.

From Slate

Related Words

• clean