past exonerative

noun

The notional past tense of non-apology apologies like "mistakes were made", in which a speaker uses the passive voice (and past tense) and careful wording to avoid imputing intent or blame for a failure.

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Meanings

noun
  1. The notional past tense of non-apology apologies like "mistakes were made", in which a speaker uses the passive voice (and past tense) and careful wording to avoid imputing intent or blame for a failure.

    The President expressed himself in what might be called the past exonerative, a verb tense politicians use when they're in trouble.

    1997, National Journal
    2 more examples

    When deniability is impossible, dissociation is the way, and the past exonerative allows the actor to separate himself from the act.

    1991, The New York Times Magazine

    Now the past exonerative and other slippery passive usages are rampant (or should that be, are being run rampantly?) throughout the press.

    2018, Doug Bandow, Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police, Routledge, →ISBN

Origin

Coined by political scientist William Schneider.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

past exonerative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20exonerative

MLA

“past exonerative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20exonerative. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “past exonerative,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20exonerative.

Source: past exonerative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.