Final answer:
The word 'exculpate' is related to 'blame' as 'abash' is to 'shame', where 'exculpate' means to free from blame and 'abash' means to cause shame, making option (A) the correct answer to the analogy question.
Step-by-step explanation:
The analogical question posed here is about the relationship between words in analogy pairs. The word exculpate is to blame as which option is to its second word. In this context, 'exculpate' means to free from blame or guilt, while 'blame' is assigning responsibility for a fault or wrong. The correct answer to the analogy would maintain a similar opposing relationship between the words in the pair. Option (A) abash:shame has a similar relationship where 'abash' means to cause to feel embarrassed or ashamed, and 'shame' is the feeling one has when abashed. The words in the other options do not represent this type of relationship. Therefore, the answer to the analogy is (A) abash:shame.