exonerated

American  

[ig-zon-uh-rey-tid] / ɪgˈzɒn əˌreɪ tɪd /

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

Etymology

Origin of exonerated

exonerate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Use the adjective exonerated to describe someone who's been proven innocent. A boy whose mother thinks he stole a bag of candy is exonerated when his teacher explains that he won the candy in a spelling contest. When a suspect is let off the hook, or freed from guilt, he is exonerated. A prisoner set free after his lawyer presents new evidence is exonerated of his crime, and a basketball player might be exonerated of a foul accusation once the referees examine a video tape of the game. Exonerated comes from the Latin word for "remove a burden or unload," exoneratus. When the burden of guilt is removed from you, you're exonerated.

Example Sentences

The couple took part in a BBC Radio Ulster documentary called Exonerated in 2017.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2025

That was a factor in one of the most notorious false confession cases, that of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

Here again, he seems to have learned nothing from being wrong about the Exonerated Five.

From Slate • Oct. 23, 2024

Exonerated prisoners in Michigan are eligible for up to a year of housing and two years of other services, such as help finding a job, work clothes and tools, prosecutors said.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2022

Exonerated from the disgraceful imputation of faithlessness, Josephine was again free to leave the convent and return to the life of the world.

From Empress Josephine An historical sketch of the days of Napoleon by Mühlbach, L. (Luise)

Related Words

• clean