exculpate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unexculpableadjective
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exculpationnoun
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exculpableadjective
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exculpatoryadjective
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unexculpatedadjective
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nonexculpableadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have exculpatedperfect
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has exculpatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been exculpatingperfect progressive
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has been exculpatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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exculpatingparticiple
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is exculpatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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exculpatessingular 3rd person
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am exculpatingprogressive 1st person singular
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are exculpatingprogressive
Past
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had exculpatedperfect
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were exculpatingprogressive plural
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had been exculpatingperfect progressive
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was exculpatingprogressive singular
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exculpatedsimple
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exculpatedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of exculpate
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin exculpātus “freed from blame,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + culpātus “blamed” (past participle of culpāre; see culpable)
Explanation
To exculpate means to find someone not guilty of criminal charges. If you've been wrongly accused of robbery, you'd better hope a judge will exculpate you, unless you want to go to jail because you've heard prison food is amazing. Exculpate comes from two Latin words: ex-, meaning "from," and culpa, meaning "blame." Exculpate is similar in meaning to exonerate. When you exonerate someone, you clear a person of an accusation and any suspicion that goes along with it. Exculpate usually refers more directly to clearing the charges against someone. So if that judge exculpates you from the robbery charge, everyone in town might still think you did it. Get him to exculpate and exonerate you.
Vocabulary lists containing exculpate
Frankenstein
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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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.
Nobody doubts that a clever jurist with a dictionary and a truckload of motivated reasoning can use the law to exculpate himself and inculpate others.
From Slate • Jun. 26, 2023
He devises a daring, sometimes distracting but ultimately inspired format by saving his commentary for footnotes that contextualize, teasingly contradict and occasionally exculpate Rodgers from her unsparing self-assessments.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2022
“It does not vary either to exculpate on the basis of the actor’s unusual callousness or to condemn for outraging an excessively delicate relative of the deceased,” Rennie wrote, citing the Model Penal Code.
From Seattle Times • May 24, 2022
“Much like with the Covington Catholic kids, the situation was a hoax, but in the show the full video doesn’t exculpate Ari’s aggressive and hostile interaction,” said the MRC analysis.
From Washington Times • May 10, 2019
We therefore “beg of you to hasten instantly to exculpate your- “self from all these charges.
From The Power Of The Popes by Daunou, Pierre Claude Fran?ois
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.
