Showing results for "exonerated"

• past participle of exonerate.
• past tense form of exonerate.

exonerated

American  

[ig-zon-uh-ray-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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of exonerated

exonerate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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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

See Examples For:

exonerated

But now, authorities have officially exonerated him — acknowledging his innocence in the 1998 Fullerton heist that robbed him of nearly two decades of his life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Only once before has an executed person been exonerated posthumously by a state entity.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

These include cases in which the men were exonerated through DNA or blood evidence and others in which police are accused of fabricating evidence.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

It pointed to a recent decision by the High Court in London that largely exonerated Renault and four other carmakers from charges that the devices were designed to cheat clean air laws.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

He was exonerated, because two other employees who were supposed to be supervising the kids with him had not turned up for work.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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Related Words

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