EXONERATED Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

exonerated 1 of 2

adjective

as in acquitted

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exonerated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of exonerate

as in absolved

to free from a charge of wrongdoing the results of the DNA fingerprinting finally exonerated the man, but only after he had wasted 10 years of his life in prison

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of exonerated

Adjective

There were other consequences for the city too – like the hefty settlement payments Detroit doled out to the exonerated men in Simon’s cases. — Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026 The film’s most tense and destabilizing sequence is a confrontational meeting between the exonerated men and Bishop. — Beandrea July, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2026 There are post-release government resources for people exiting prison, but none tailored to the extraordinary circumstances of the exonerated — wronged by the legal system, in many cases over decades, and then suddenly put on the street with no preparation or plan for facing the outside world. — Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026 The civil rights counts against Buck Aldridge are not related to the fatal shooting of the exonerated man, Leonard Cure, whom Aldridge killed during a struggle after a traffic stop in 2023. — Phil Helsel, NBC news, 8 Aug. 2025

Verb

Crime, courts and policing A man falsely imprisoned for 18 years was exonerated of an Orange County robbery. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Most famously, Iwao Hakamada spent decades on death row over a 1966 quadruple murder before being released in 2014 and fully exonerated in 2024 at the age of 88. — CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026 After another disturbance, McClatchy was jailed on charges of resisting the authority of the sheriff, but later exonerated, the Media Museum said. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers was long dead (and never appears in the first four episodes), but the DNA findings exonerated the falsely accused. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026 The complaint led to Gingrich's resignation and an IRS investigation, which eventually exonerated him. — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 Knox served nearly four years in an Italian prison before her conviction was overturned, and she was exonerated. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026 These include cases in which the men were exonerated through DNA or blood evidence and others in which police are accused of fabricating evidence. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 6 Aug. 2026 Newly exonerated, he's treated in some corners as a folk hero. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 31 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for exonerated

Adjective

Not all pads are alike, but a footprint on the larger side involves five to ten acres of cleared, packed ground that serves as the hub for drilling equipment, which can include wellheads, pump jacks, tanks, wastewater storage pits, trailers, and flare stacks.

— Alex Heard, Outside, 4 Mar. 2026
What counts as a cleared sidewalk?

— Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 1 Dec. 2025

Definition of cleared

Verb

The tribunal convicted one official and acquitted the other, but the bombmaker's possible identity remained a mystery for years.

— CBS News, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
He was acquitted in 2020, but was swiftly rearrested on charges linking him to Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of acquitted

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“Exonerated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exonerated. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of exonerated

adjective

verb

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