exculpatory
Americanadjective
Other Word 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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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.
Carcopino’s text was indeed a popular standard, and even if scholars of ancient slavery have long since abandoned this exculpatory view, any living historian of ancient Rome can confirm that the misjudgment lingers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Concealing the use of such informants from the defense, as happened in Carruthers’ case, is a serious breach of a prosecutor’s obligation to disclose potentially exculpatory information.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
“If a police agency can withhold footage that’s incriminating but release footage that’s exculpatory, that isn’t transparency,” he added.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
That agreement also requires prosecutors to implement new policies to prevent the misuse of informants, maintain records and audits, and to disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants involving snitches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
Supreme Court has long required that the prosecution disclose to the defendant anything that is exculpatory or that may be helpful to the defendant in impeaching a witness.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
