exculpatory
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of exculpatory
Explanation
Does the blood on the kitchen knife not match that on the accused's clothes? That's exculpatory evidence: anything that clears someone or something of guilt or blame is exculpatory. Exculpatory comes from the Latin word exculpat, meaning "freed from blame." The verb exculpate means to free from guilt or blame. Both words are used most often in a legal or technical sense rather than in everyday conversation — unless of course you're trying to show off.
Vocabulary lists containing exculpatory
Just Mercy
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
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Legal Lingo, List 6
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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.
