It’s time to learn something new, courtesy of the Oxford American Dictionary:

THE RIGHT WORD
To varying degrees, all of these words mean to free from guilt or blame, and some are most frequently heard in a legal or political context.

Absolve is the most general term, meaning to set free or release—not only from guilt or blame, but from a duty or obligation (: absolved from her promise to serve on the committee) or from the penalties for a violation.

Pardon is usually associated with the actions of a government or military official (: President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon following his resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal) and specifically refers to a release from prosecution or punishment.

It is usually a legal official who decides to acquit someone—that is, release someone from a specific and formal accusation of wrongdoing (: the court acquitted the accused due to lack of evidence).

Exonerate suggests relief (its origin suggests the lifting of a burden), often in a moral sense, from a definite charge so that not even the suspicion of wrongdoing remains (: completely exonerated from the accusation of cheating).

A person who is vindicated is also off the hook, usually due to the examination of evidence (: she vindicated herself by producing the missing documents).

Exempt has less to do with guilt and punishment and more to do with duty and obligation (: exempt from paying taxes).

To forgive, however, is the most magnanimous act of all: It implies not only giving up on the idea that an offense should be punished, but also relinquishing any feelings of resentment or vengefulness (: “To err is human; to forgive divine”).

I’m feeling vindicated when I should feel exonerated… And not to worry, everything’s okay. Just ask me about it some time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2005 at 9:04 pm and is filed under As Found Elsewhere, Goings On, School. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.