exonerate vs whitewash

exonerate

verb
  • To free (someone) from accusation or blame. 

  • To free (someone) from an obligation, responsibility or task. 

whitewash

verb
  • To cover over errors or bad actions. 

  • In various games, to defeat (an opponent) so that they fail to score, or to reach a certain point in the game; to skunk. 

  • To paint over with a lime and water mixture so as to brighten up a wall or fence. 

  • To make over (a person or character, a group, an event, etc) so that it is or seems more white, for example by applying makeup to a person, or by discounting the participation of people of color in an event and focusing on only white participation. 

noun
  • The most basic type of thickening agent, flour blended with water to make a paste. 

  • A lime and water mixture for painting walls and fences bright white. 

  • A complete victory or series of victories without suffering any losses; a clean sweep. 

  • A campaign to paper over unfavorable elements. 

How often have the words exonerate and whitewash occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )