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.

Other Word Forms

• unexonerated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exonerated¹

exonerate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

The toxicology screen had “completely exonerated” Cervantes, the filing said, but the police department had already “released false information to the press claiming that Senator Cervantes had driven while under the influence of drugs.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Four federal investigations and a grand jury probe later, Baltimore’s colleague, and Baltimore himself, were exonerated.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The decision pays off in the film’s third act, when Matthew is exonerated in the court of the public and receives the adoration he’s been trying to leech from Oliver.

Read more on Salon

Sturgeon, who will stand down as an MSP next year, also points out that she was exonerated by police investigating the finances of the SNP in an inquiry which is codenamed Operation Branchform.

Read more on BBC

The former first minister was later exonerated and has since separated from Mr Murrell who has been charged with embezzlement.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• clean