exonerate

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

Etymology

From Middle English exoneraten (attested in past participle exonerated), from Latin exonerātus, past perfect participle of exonerō (“to discharge, unload; to exonerate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Exonerō is from ex- (“out, from”) + onerō (“to burden, lade; to load”) further from onus (oner-) (“a burden, load”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃énh₂os (“burden, load”), from *h₃enh₂- (“to charge, onerate”). Compare French exonérer.

In classic literature

Synonyms

acquit, assoil, clear, discharge, exculpate

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