vindicate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to clearas from an accusationimputationsuspicionor the like.
to vindicate someone's honor.
- Synonyms:
- exonerate
-
to afford justification for; justify.
Subsequent events vindicated his policy.
-
to uphold or justify by argument or evidence.
to vindicate a claim.
- Synonyms:
- substantiate
-
to assertmaintainor defend (a rightcauseetc.) against opposition.
- Synonyms:
- substantiate
-
to claim for oneself or another.
-
Roman and Civil Law. to regain possessionunder claim of title of property through legal procedureor to assert one's right to possession.
-
to get revenge for; avenge.
-
Obsolete. to deliver from; liberate.
-
Obsolete. to punish.
verb
-
to clear from guiltaccusationblameetcas by evidence or argument
-
to provide justification for
his promotion vindicated his unconventional attitude
-
to upholdmaintainor defend (a causeetc)
to vindicate a claim
-
Roman law to bring an action to regain possession of (property) under claim of legal title
-
rare to claimas for oneself or another
-
obsolete to take revenge on or for; punish
-
obsolete to set free
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vindicate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin vindicātus (past participle of vindicāre “to lay legal claim to (property); to free (someone) from servitude (by claiming him as free); to protectavengepunish),“ equivalent to vindic- (stem of vindex “claimantprotectoravenger”) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Vindicate means to justifyproveor reinforce an idea — or to absolve from guilt. If your family thinks you hogged the last piece of pie on Thanksgivingyou'll be vindicated when your younger brother fesses up. Vindicate derives from the Latin vindicatuswhich is the past tense of vindicaremeaning "lay claim to" or "avenge." When a physicist proves a theory that his colleagues deridedhe vindicates it. When a lawyer clears her client's name in a trialshe vindicates him. Machiavelli argued that the results he got vindicated his tactics — in other wordsthe ends justified the means.
Vocabulary lists containing vindicate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sinn Féin MP Maskey said the coroner's findings vindicate families who have long maintained their loved ones were innocent and shot without justification.
From BBC • May 12026
Stopping the war weeks short would vindicate their Hormuz strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 262026
Megan notes that the data vindicate Fed officials’ decision to keep interest rates steady at the January meeting.
From Barron's • Feb. 122026
The complaint in Villanueva’s lawsuit filed in June said it was an “attempt to clear his namevindicate his reputationand be made whole for the emotional distress defendants’ actions have caused him.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 202025
StillPicasso believed in his visionand he believed that the future would vindicate him.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridgedbased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary© Random HouseInc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 200220011995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
