EXONERATION Synonyms: 24 Similar and Opposite Words

exoneration

noun

as in pardon

a setting free from a charge of wrongdoing the accused refused a plea bargain, asserting that he was innocent and would settle for nothing less than complete exoneration

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of exoneration Internal affairs complaints The lawsuit identifies five internal complaints filed against Sumstad between December 2022 and October 2025 and alleges each was dismissed, deemed unsubstantiated or ended in her exoneration. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026 In fact, Mickes and Wixted have found that, in many exoneration cases, a witness resolutely identified a person in court despite having dithered and debated during the initial photo lineup. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026 Experts told me some prosecutors around the country were using the obscure plea as a tool to thwart exonerations. — Megan Rose, ProPublica, 9 Sep. 2026 The office has also argued that the 2024 appellate ruling did not equate to an exoneration that warranted completely vacating Stubblefield’s conviction and sentence. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2026 The Ohio Parole Board recommended commuting a death row inmate’s sentence to life in prison as his bid for exoneration garners support from Kim Kardashian and other celebrities. — Josh Feldman, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026 Florida also has the highest death row exoneration record out of any other state — 30 since 1973, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. — Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2026 His case has been the subject of documentaries and true-crime podcasts and garnered celebrity attention from Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who all support his exoneration. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 The assistant district attorney assigned to the case spoke to jurors in terms that seemed to guarantee Mulholland’s exoneration. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for exoneration

Noun

Each nutty denunciation of his imaginary tormentors includes a plea for a presidential pardon.

— Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
Flávio has promised to seek a broad amnesty for his father and others convicted over the coup attempt, and to use the presidential pardon power if Congress does not act.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of pardon

Noun

Writer-director Reed Van Dyk’s feature debut navigates tricky emotional waters but emerges as a trenchant examination of what forgiveness and penitence can look like, allowing no room for anything resembling a pat happy ending.

— Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Eligible businesses could apply for loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, with additional requirements for those seeking loan forgiveness.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of forgiveness

Noun

After bulldozers were spotted in August clearing land in Big Bend, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a pause on all activity there, and it was later expanded to the area upstream of the park.

— Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
The path was lined with stone steps and gorgeous clearings overlooking the water.

— ElleAnna Revell, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of clearing

Noun

Staring down an assembly of the outraged, Digger spells out the ruthless logic of global capitalism and claims the world’s fuel dependency as the ultimate vindication.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Choi, a field engineer who has since returned to the same Georgia plant, said the claim is about vindication.

— Hanna Park, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of vindication

Browse Nearby Words

exonerating

exoneration

exonerations

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Exoneration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exoneration. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of exoneration

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes