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Topic: Absolve, exculpate, & vindicate
On this 26th of July we mark the 26th of July Movement. Scholars of modern Cuban history know that movement was born in 1953, when Fidel Castro and a small band of revolutionaries attacked the second largest garrison in Cuba. One third of the rebels were killed and the remaining hundred were arrested. Castro's four hour defense, which concluded with the challenge "Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me" became the political manifesto of Castroism and was dubbed the History Will Absolve Me speech.
We won't speak for history, but we will speak to the distinction between absolve, exculpate, and vindicate. Absolve, whose Latin ancestor translates roughly as "to loosen" or "release from," indicates a releasing either from charges or suspicions of guilt (as in the Case of Castro) or from consequences or responsibilities of guilt. Exculpate, with Latin ancestors meaning "lacking blame," indicates "a freeing from blame, fault, or guilt, especially fault or guilt with blameworthy intent."
Finally, there's vindicate. The Latin verb behind vindicate means "to lay claim to; set free; avenge." Vindicate may be synonymous with "absolve; exonerate;" or it may apply to the eventual demonstration by subsequent developments of freedom from guilt, dishonor, wrong, folly, or weakness.
Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.
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