exculpation vs forgiveness

exculpation and forgiveness both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
exculpation	Yes	No	No	No
forgiveness	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, forgiveness is a hypernym of exculpation; that is, forgiveness is a word with a broader meaning than exculpation:

Other hypernyms of exculpation include pardon.

exculpation (noun)	forgiveness (noun)
the act of freeing from guilt or blame	the act of excusing a mistake or offense
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.	compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive