# exonerate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪɡˈzɒnəɹeɪt/ · frequency rank #46,451

## Definitions
1. To relieve (someone or something) of a load; to unburden (a load).
2. Of a body of water: to discharge or empty (itself).
3. To free (someone) from an obligation, responsibility or task.
4. To free (someone) from accusation or blame.

## Etymology
From Middle English exoneraten (attested in past participle exonerated), from Latin exonerātus, past perfect participle of exonerō (“to discharge, unload; to exonerate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Exonerō is from ex- (“out, from”) + onerō (“to burden, lade; to load”) further from onus (oner-) (“a burden, load”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃énh₂os (“burden, load”), from *h₃enh₂- (“to charge, onerate”). Compare French exonérer.

## Easily confused with
- **exonerated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/exonerate-vs-exonerated)

## Common misspellings (12)
`eoxnerate`, `exnoerate`, `exoenrate`, `exonearte`, `exoneraet`, `exoneratte`, `exonerrate`, `exonertae`, `exonnerate`, `exonreate`, `exxonerate`, `xeonerate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/exonerate