Meaning of past exonerative | Babel Free

Definitions

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.

Examples

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

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

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

CEFR level