Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

exculpate

verbHigh-frequency wordMore E words

to clear someone of blame or guilt

Word origin: From Latin ex-, out of, plus culpa, blame.

Test your vocabulary in a real test Full-length · no signup · instant score
In a sentence

Exculpate in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing exculpate in a sentence.

New evidence served to exculpate the wrongly accused man.

New forensic evidence emerged that fully exculpated the man convicted two decades earlier.

Synonyms
Antonyms
incriminateconvictblame
Usage & nuance

Using “exculpate” well

Exculpate means to clear of blame or guilt. It is a close synonym of exonerate; both contrast directly with incriminate, and the shared culp root means fault.

Common questions

Questions about “exculpate

Exculpate (verb) means to clear someone of blame or guilt
Here is exculpate used in an example sentence: "New evidence served to exculpate the wrongly accused man." Another example: "New forensic evidence emerged that fully exculpated the man convicted two decades earlier."
Common synonyms for exculpate include exonerate, absolve, vindicate.
Antonyms of exculpate include incriminate, convict, blame.
Clusters with exonerate, absolve, and vindicate in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms incriminate, convict, and blame mark the opposite, and exonerate is the natural partner answer.
Yes. Exculpate is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.