These are words of courtrooms and consciences. Two describe responsibility and blame (accountable, culpable). Five mean clearing someone of blame, each in its own way (exculpate, exonerate, acquit, absolve, vindicate). Condone means letting wrongdoing slide, punitive describes punishment, and clemency is mercy.
Key idea
Listen for the Latin: culpa = fault (culpable, exculpate); onus = burden (exonerate: the burden of blame taken off); poena = punishment (punitive, like punish).
The ten words
Common mistake
condone means to allow or overlook, not to condemn; they are near opposites. vindicate means to clear or prove right; it has nothing to do with revenge (vindictive).
| clearing word | how |
|---|---|
| acquit | a court declares “not guilty” |
| exonerate | clears completely (the burden lifted) |
| exculpate | evidence shows someone is not to blame |
| absolve | frees from guilt, blame or a duty; forgives |
| vindicate | clears and proves right |
Two famous mix-ups: condone (to overlook wrongdoing) is nearly the opposite of condemn (to declare it wrong); and vindicate (to prove right) has nothing to do with vindictive (seeking revenge).