Exonerate

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪkˈsÉ’nəɹeɪt/

Origin

From the participle stem of Latin exonerāre.

Full definition of exonerate

Verb

1. (transitive, now rare) To relieve (someone or something) of a load; to unburden (a load).
2. (obsolete, reflexive) Of a body of water, to discharge (oneself), empty oneself.
• 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.ii.3:I would examine the Caspian Sea, and see where and how it exonerates itself, after it hath taken in Volga, Iaxartes, Oxus, and those great rivers; at the mouth of Obi, or where?
3. (transitive) To free from an obligation, responsibility or task.
4. (transitive) To free from accusation or blame.

Synonyms

• (to free from accusation) acquit