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.
The couple took part in a BBC Radio Ulster documentary called Exonerated in 2017.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2025
Here again, he seems to have learned nothing from being wrong about the Exonerated Five.
From Slate • Oct. 23, 2024
They arrived in the chill of a late fall morning, some singing hymns, to dedicate a park entry to the men once known as the Central Park Five, but now remembered as the Exonerated Five.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2022
Exonerated prisoners in Michigan are eligible for up to a year of housing and two years of other services, such as help finding a job, work clothes and tools, prosecutors said.
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2022
Exonerated from the disgraceful imputation of faithlessness, Josephine was again free to leave the convent and return to the life of the world.
From Empress Josephine An historical sketch of the days of Napoleon by Mühlbach, L. (Luise)
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.
