Clears someone of blame or proves they are not guilty of a wrongdoing.
From Latin 'exculpare' (ex- 'out' + culpa 'fault'), meaning to free from blame. The word entered English in the 17th century as a legal and formal term for proving innocence.
This word is the legal opposite of 'incriminate'—while one word makes you look guilty, exculpate does the opposite! It's become famous in courtroom dramas when a piece of evidence suddenly exculpates a defendant.
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