Exculpate: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Exculpate verb. To show or declare that someone is not to blame.
How to say it
EK-skul-payt/ˈɛkskʌlpeɪt/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (EK). Forms: exculpated, exculpates.
Exculpate in a sentence
New DNA evidence exculpated the man who had served twelve years.
Her diary, found decades later, entirely exculpates her brother.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- exonerate
- clear
- absolve
- vindicate
Opposite:
- incriminate
- inculpate
Where exculpate comes from
From Medieval Latin exculpare, from ex, out of, and culpa, blame.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Her diary, found decades later, entirely _____ her brother.
- exculpate
- acquit
- recuse
Show the answer
exculpate: Her diary, found decades later, entirely exculpates her brother.