exculpate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 3, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>exculpate</strong> &#149; \EK-skull-payt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Exculpate</em> means "to clear from alleged fault or guilt."</p> <p>// The lawyer claimed to have recently discovered evidence that would <em>exculpate</em> her client.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exculpate">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Napoleon's admirers <em>exculpate</em> the emperor by pointing to his transformation of civic life in France. They say that the 1804 <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/Code%20Civil">Napoleonic Code</a> deserves to be seen alongside other celebrated civic texts, such as the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Magna%20Carta">Magna Carta</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Declaration-of-Independence">Declaration of Independence</a>." — Leo Cendrowicz, inews.co.uk, 16 Apr. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Exculpate</em> is the joining of the prefix <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ex-#h6">ex-</a></em>, meaning "not," and the Latin noun <em>culpa</em>, meaning "blame." Readers may be familiar with the Latin phrase <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mea%20culpa">mea culpa</a></em>, which translates directly as "through my fault" and is used in English to mean "a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>