【Exculpate】 , 【absolve】 ,  【exonerate】 ,  【acquit】 ,  【vindicate】  mean to free from a charge or burden.

【Exculpate】 implies simply a clearing from blame, often in a matter of small importance.

【Absolve】 implies a release, often a formal release, either from obligations or responsibilities that bind the conscience or from the consequences or penalties of their violation.

【Exonerate】 implies relief, often in a moral sense, from what is regarded as a load or burden. In general  【exonerate】 more frequently suggests such relief from a definite charge that not even the suspicion of wrongdoing remains.

【Acquit】 implies a decision in one’s favor with reference to a specific charge.

【Vindicate】 , unlike the preceding words, may have reference to things as well as to persons that have been subjected to attack, suspicion, censure, or ridicule. As here compared (see also MAINTAIN ) it implies a clearing through proof of the injustice or the unfairness of such criticism or blame and the exoneration of the person or the justification of the thing.