Word: exculpate (verb)

Associations

"Exculpate" means to show or declare that someone is not guilty of doing something wrong. It is often used in legal or formal contexts when someone is cleared from blame.

• The lawyer tried to exculpate her client by providing evidence that he was not at the crime scene.
• The new facts helped to exculpate the accused man in the court case.
• The witness testimony served to exculpate the defendant from all charges.

A well-known synonym is "acquit." The difference is that "acquit" is often used specifically when a court formally declares someone not guilty after a trial, while "exculpate" can be used more broadly, including outside the courtroom, to mean clearing someone from blame.

Substitution

Instead of "exculpate," you could say:

• "clear" (e.g., clear someone of suspicion)
• "absolve" (more formal, often religious or moral contexts)
• "vindicate" (means to show that someone was right or justified) Each word changes the tone slightly. For example, "absolve" has a stronger moral or religious sense, while "vindicate" focuses on proving someone was right.

Deconstruction

• Prefix: "ex-" means "out of" or "from."
• Root: "culp" comes from Latin "culpa," meaning "fault" or "blame."
• Suffix: "-ate" turns the word into a verb. So, "exculpate" literally means "to take out the blame."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when someone was wrongly blamed and later exculpated?
• How would you explain the difference between being "exculpated" and just saying "sorry"?
• In what situations might you use "exculpate" instead of simpler words like "clear"?