Choose the most appropriate antonym for the given word: Exonerate
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Convict
- Exonerate means to declare someone free from blame or guilt, especially after an inquiry. It comes from the Latin ex (out of) + onus (burden): freed from the burden of a charge.
Example: The inquiry exonerated the driver of any blame for the accident. - Convict means to declare someone guilty of a crime in a court of law. Exonerate clears a person; convict finds the person guilty, so convict is the antonym.
Example: The court convicted him of fraud.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Acquit — Incorrect. To acquit is to declare someone not guilty. It is close in meaning to exonerate, a synonym rather than an antonym.
Example: The jury acquitted her for lack of evidence.
Option 2: Acquaint — Incorrect. To acquaint is to make someone familiar with something; it has no link with guilt or blame. It only looks like "acquit".
Example: The guide acquainted us with the rules of the museum.
Option 3: Purgate — Incorrect. Purgate is a rare word meaning to purge, to make clean; to purge oneself of a charge is also to clear oneself, so it leans towards exonerate, not against it.
Example: The censors tried to purgate the book of every offensive line.
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| exonerate | 11-05 S2 14-05 S1 31-05 S1 | 21-05 S1 | – | – | – |
| acquit | 30-05 S1 | – | – | – | 17-08 S1 20-08 S1 |