| Library / English Dictionary |
EXCULPATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of freeing from guilt or blame
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("exculpation" is a kind of...):
forgiveness; pardon (the act of excusing a mistake or offense)
Derivation:
exculpate (pronounce not guilty of criminal charges)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
Example:
his transparent self-justification was unacceptable
Synonyms:
alibi; exculpation; excuse; self-justification
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("exculpation" is a kind of...):
defence; defense; vindication (the justification for some act or belief)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "exculpation"):
extenuation; mitigation (a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances)
