exonerate
verb
Did you know?
Where does exonerate come from?
Exonerate comes from the Latin verb exonerare, meaning "to unburden." That verb combines the prefix ex- with onus, meaning "load" or "burden." In its earliest uses, exonerate was applied to physical burdens—a ship, for example, could be exonerated of its cargo when it was unloaded. Later it was used in reference to the freeing of any kind of burden, including blame or charges of wrongdoing.
Examples of exonerate in a Sentence
Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Knox was exonerated of the murder, but a conviction of slander for falsely accusing a Congolese bar owner of committing the murder was not rescinded.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new law that would exonerate all those who had been convicted and announced compensation.
—Scott Bryan, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
Is there no defense that would de-escalate the altercation, no clarification that would exonerate?
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The spokesperson declined to comment further or explain how Planet had exonerated itself in these cases.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024
The pair then receive a beyond-the-grave message from Howard instructing them to clear his name, which, of course, sets off a series of explosive adventures as the fugitive cops run for their lives while looking for evidence to exonerate their boss.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2024
Prado’s report concluded that there was no indication of wrongdoing by any of the officers at the scene May 24, 2022, and that all responding officers should be exonerated.
—Anumita Kaur, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
Decades later, Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam were exonerated for the assassination after spending more than 50 years in prison.
—Aaron Bonderson - Nebraska Public Media, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exonerate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to exonerate
Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week -...
Dictionary lookups from Jacob Chansley, Julius Jones, Malcolm X, Gosar, and a fentanyl seizure.
The Good, The Bad, & The...
Top lookups from Marco Rubio's defense of Trump, the Mueller House testimony, and Trump's attacks on minority congresswomen
The Good, The Bad, & The...
The words that defined the week of April 19, 2019
Dictionary Entries Near exonerate
Cite this Entry
“Exonerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exonerate. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
exonerate
verb
Legal Definition
exonerate
transitive verb
Latin exonerare to relieve, free, discharge, from ex- out + onerare to burden, from oner-, onus load
Share