exonerated
Americanadjective
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of exonerated
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.
Vocabulary lists containing exonerated
Between the World and Me
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All My Sons
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Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman?
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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.
And New Orleans attorney Blake Arcuri—a partner in a law office with Cannizzaro’s daughter Laura—has similarly insisted that Duncan was not exonerated.
From Slate • May 5, 2026
Reprising his Olivier-nominated London performance, Brody plays Nick Yarris, the convicted murderer who spent more than 21 years on death row before being exonerated for a crime he didn’t commit.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
When citizens were exonerated, government accounts fell silent about the outcome of their cases, the Journal found.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
"He's been exonerated for a long time," he said.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
My dad glanced at my mom and for one delirious second I thought I was off the hook, that somehow I’d exonerated myself, and that we could all just go back to business as usual.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
