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

"Their arrest, prosecution and conviction for harassment were an egregious affront on those rights and they are delighted to have finally been exonerated."

Read more on BBC

"We are confident that when the facts come out, the Prince Group and its Chairman will be fully exonerated."

Read more on Barron's

Even if the innocent are exonerated, the process is the punishment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While he was exonerated for the murder charge, his drug conviction still stands, they have said.

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They were exonerated more than a decade later through DNA evidence and a confession from the true assailant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• clean