Standard Lemma guide

exculpatory

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪksˈkʌl.pə.tɹi/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪksˈkʌl.pə.tə.ɹi/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ɛksˈkʌl.pəˌtɔ.ɹi/
  • US: /ɪks-/
  • CMU ARPABET: EH2 K S K AH1 L P AH0 T AO2 R IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disculpatory, exonerative, vindicatory, absolving

Antonyms: criminative, criminatory, incriminating, incriminatory, inculpatory, nonexculpatory, damning

2

adjective

Meaning 2

clearing of guilt or blame

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: inculpatory

History

Etymology

From exculpate + -ory (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to, serving for’). Exculpate is derived from Medieval Latin exculpātus, perfect passive participle of exculpō (“to free from blame, exculpate”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘out, away’) + culpa (“defect, fault; crime”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kwelp-). Cognate with Spanish exculpatorio.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 證明無罪的 /证明无罪的 (zhèngmíng wúzuì de) — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Esperanto: senkulpiga — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Finnish: syyttömäksi todistava — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Finnish: syyttömyyttä osoittava — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • French: à décharge — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • German: entlastend — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Italian: giustificativo — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Italian: giustificatorio — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Polish: uniewinniający — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Polish: usprawiedliwiający — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Polish: oczyszczający — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Portuguese: exculpante — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Portuguese: exculpatório — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Russian: оправда́тельный (opravdátelʹnyj) — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Spanish: autoexculpatorio — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Spanish: exculpatorio — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing
  • Swedish: rättfärdigande — tending to excuse or clear of wrongdoing