To free from blame or guilt; to exonerate someone from responsibility for a wrongdoing.
From Latin 'disculpatus' (past participle of 'disculpare'), combining 'dis-' (away, reversal) and 'culpa' (fault, blame). The prefix reverses the meaning of culpate, creating the opposite sense of clearing someone of wrongdoing.
This word is the legal and formal cousin of 'exonerate,' but it's rarely used in modern English—most people say someone was 'cleared' or 'acquitted' instead. It's one of those words that sounds like it should be common but actually signals you're reading old court documents or legal theory.
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