Exonerate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·on·er·ate

Audio Help [ig-zon-uh-reyt] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.

1.	to clear, as of an accusation; free from guilt or blame; exculpate: He was exonerated from the accusation of cheating.

2.	to relieve, as from an obligation, duty, or task.

[Origin: 1515–25; late ME < L exonerātus (ptp. of exonerāre to unburden, discharge), equiv. to ex- ex-¹ + oner- (s. of onus) a burden + -ātus -ate¹

]

—Related forms

ex·on·er·a·tion, noun

ex·on·er·a·tive, adjective

ex·on·er·a·tor, noun

—Synonyms 1. vindicate. See absolve. 2. release, discharge, free.

—Antonyms 1. blame.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Exonerate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·on·er·ate Audio Help (ĭg-zŏn'ə-rāt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. ex·on·er·at·ed, ex·on·er·at·ing, ex·on·er·ates

To free from blame.
To free from a responsibility, obligation, or task.

[Middle English exoneraten, from Latin exonerāre, exonerāt-, to free from a burden : ex-, ex- + onus, oner-, burden.]

ex·on'er·a'tion n., ex·on'er·a'tive adj.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
exonerate

1448, from L. exoneratus, pp. of exonerare "remove a burden, discharge," from ex- "off" + onus (gen. oneris) "burden."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

exonerate
verb
pronounce not guilty of criminal charges; "The suspect was cleared of the murder charges" [syn: acquit] [ant: convict]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Exonerate

Ab*solve"\ (#; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Absolved; p. pr. & vb. n. Absolving.] [L. absolvere to set free, to absolve; ab + solvere to loose. See Assoil, Solve.]

1. To set free, or release, as from some obligation, debt, or responsibility, or from the consequences of guilt or such ties as it would be sin or guilt to violate; to pronounce free; as, to absolve a subject from his allegiance; to absolve an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment.

Halifax was absolved by a majority of fourteen. --Macaulay.

2. To free from a penalty; to pardon; to remit (a sin); -- said of the sin or guilt.

In his name I absolve your perjury. --Gibbon.

3. To finish; to accomplish. [Obs.]

The work begun, how soon absolved. --Milton.

4. To resolve or explain. [Obs.] "We shall not absolve the doubt." --Sir T. Browne.

Syn: To Absolve, Exonerate, Acquit.

Usage: We speak of a man as absolved from something that binds his conscience, or involves the charge of wrongdoing; as, to absolve from allegiance or from the obligation of an oath, or a promise. We speak of a person as exonerated, when he is released from some burden which had rested upon him; as, to exonerate from suspicion, to exonerate from blame or odium. It implies a purely moral acquittal. We speak of a person as acquitted, when a decision has been made in his favor with reference to a specific charge, either by a jury or by disinterested persons; as, he was acquitted of all participation in the crime.

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