Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To clear of guilt or blame.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To clear from a charge or imputation of fault or guilt; vindicate from an accusation of wrong-doing.
- Serve to relieve of or free from blame; serve as an excuse for. Synonyms To exonerate, acquit, absolve, pardon, justify.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To clear from alleged fault or guilt; to prove to be guiltless; to relieve of blame; to acquit.
WordNet 3.0
- v. pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
Etymologies
- From Latin ex culpa (ex ("from") + culpa ("blame")) + a Latinate ending. (Wiktionary)
- Medieval Latin exculpāre, exculpāt- : Latin ex-, ex- + Latin culpa, guilt. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“If Stephen "exculpate"'d a little less, and "don't blame"'d a little more, he might lose the respect of his SCR but gain a wider audience.”
“Contrary to Chevron's assertions, Cabrera did not rule on the critical question of liability and did not "exculpate”
“In fact, mistaken eyewitnesses have played a role in 75% of the 273 DNA exonerations we've seen pop up steadily around the country in the last couple decades since we've learned the power of DNA to exculpate the innocent--and put away the guilty.”
“While at first glance it appears to suffice, it's actually just another bad euphemism in a growing list of hackish politics-as-sports metaphors intended to deflect criticism and exculpate the news media when it clearly fails to effectively hold accountable our elected officials.”
The Huffington Post: Bob Cesca: Cable News Debate Coverage Is Hurting Democracy
“From the paper Unless nearly two thirds of ordeal-o¢ ciating priests didnt understand how to heat iron, the data clearly evidence priestly rigging intended to exculpate probands.”
““I know—I'm just saying,” he said, trying to exculpate himself from blame for the unintentional insult.”
“That these beliefs, which the judge presumed to be grounded in sharia, could actually exculpate this man, at least at the lower court level, proved to Gingrich that sharia was a mortal threat to American law, totally incompatible with "American values" and a contradiction of the most basic protections that Americans -- especially women -- take to be their birthright.”
The Huffington Post: Sherman A. Jackson: Sharia in America: How Religious Laws Change
“I hope this might in some small way exculpate my sins.”
TOC: The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF edited by Mike Ashley
“Rio Ferdinand was the quickest to exculpate Evans, tweeting: I hope Holden is ok, an honest, solid tackle between him and Evans and Evans gets a red card...”
The Guardian: Mystery of Jeff Bonser the Banks's landlord is solved
“Do you agree or disagree that whatever failings Clinton may have had vis terrorism do not exculpate Bush for ignoring the August warning?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘exculpate’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 269 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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New words
new words or spelling issues
voluble, Metagrobolize, salubrious, calumny, fugacity, withdrawal, bourse, hypertrophy, leitmotif, argot, improvident, damask and 238 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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EN - eloquence in public speaking
Key words from "The Training of a Public Speaker" by Grenville Kleiser (New York and London, 1920)
beget, imago, Vespasian, languid, studied, judgment, dwindle, artifice, contribute, observe, sonorous, gladiator and 264 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
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Burroughs
Detestable words
purulence, bête noire, exigent, exculpate, desideratum, lucriferous, concomitant, pertinacious, pervicacious, gemütlichkeit, sublimate, sanfroid and 38 more...
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March 2012
panache, evanescent, erogenous, vestibule, malfeasance, lacuna, blithering, incubate, breech, tabernacle, pearly, upholstery and 79 more...
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New Words
idiopathic, explicate, expiate, pellucid, exogenous, pelagic, manque, salonniere, pedantic, expatiate, cyclamen, peregrination and 83 more...
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EN - rare verbs
fornicate, enfranchise, tweet, natter, fetter, devil, cork, bunker, canoe, backstroke, carom, queer and 52 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for exculpate.
kingparton We invent our god to exculpate us when we find it necessary to perform the unpleasant act of killing those who invent their god when they find it necessary to perform the unpleasant task of killing us.
Stefan Themerson, Tom Harris Dec 29, 2011