vindicate
Other forms: vindicated; vindicating; vindicates
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.
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show to be right by providing justification or proof
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clear of accusationblamesuspicionor doubt with supporting proof
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maintainupholdor defend
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Vocabulary lists containing vindicate
Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 100 "top words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SATcheck out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SATwhich focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.
After defying her unclethe king of ThebesAntigone is sentenced to death. This classical tragedytranslated from the Greek by Francis Storrexplores the tension between duty and family.
After having a child out of wedlockHester Prynne is shunned by her Puritan community and forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing — but Hester is not the only one who has transgressed. This classic novel explores guiltsinand hypocrisy.