as in acquitting
to free from a charge of wrongdoing
the results of the DNA fingerprinting finally exonerated the man, but only after he had wasted 10 years of his life in prison
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in compensatory
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exonerating
Christian Orozco, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
Italy's highest court made the final ruling in 2015, exonerating Knox and Sollecito for good.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Two recent court decisions—one a civil case over an allegedly defective anatomical implant, the other a murder in rural Wisconsin—are the latest in a string of decisions confirming wearables data is fair game and can be pivotal in exposing a wrongdoing or exonerating an innocent person.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Sep. 2021
Adjective
The Louisiana State Police published new video from the deadly pileup involving LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy, defending its investigation after Lacy's lawyer claimed to have new evidence allegedly exonerating the late college football star.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025
Italy's highest court made the final ruling in 2015, exonerating Knox and Sollecito for good.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Two recent court decisions—one a civil case over an allegedly defective anatomical implant, the other a murder in rural Wisconsin—are the latest in a string of decisions confirming wearables data is fair game and can be pivotal in exposing a wrongdoing or exonerating an innocent person.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exonerating
Verb
-
The first jury, by contrast, deliberated for days before acquitting Amiri of conspiracy, multiple deprivation-of-rights charges and convicting him of the single dog attack and records falsification.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
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Jury leans toward convicting Sweet and brother Harry for manslaughter and acquitting everyone else, but can't reach unanimous verdicts.—
NEAL RUBIN,
Freep.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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During the trials, according to a Board of Bar Overseers report, the prosecutors were engaging in misconduct that included withholding exculpatory evidence and demonstrating racial bias against the defendant in emails.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
29 Sep. 2025
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Prosecutors are required to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense ahead of trial.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exonerating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exonerating. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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