vindicate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like.
to vindicate someone's honor.
- Synonyms:
- exonerate
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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 assert, maintain, or defend (a right, cause, etc.) against opposition.
- Synonyms:
- substantiate
-
to claim for oneself or another.
-
Roman and Civil Law. to regain possession, under claim of title of property through legal procedure, or to assert one's right to possession.
-
to get revenge for; avenge.
-
Obsolete. to deliver from; liberate.
-
Obsolete. to punish.
verb
-
to clear from guilt, accusation, blame, etc, as by evidence or argument
-
to provide justification for
his promotion vindicated his unconventional attitude
-
to uphold, maintain, or defend (a cause, etc)
to vindicate a claim
-
Roman law to bring an action to regain possession of (property) under claim of legal title
-
rare to claim, as for oneself or another
-
obsolete to take revenge on or for; punish
-
obsolete to set free
Other Word Forms
- revindicate verb (used with object)
- self-vindicated adjective
- self-vindicating adjective
- unvindicated adjective
- vindicator noun
- vindicatory adjective
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 protect, avenge, punish),“ equivalent to vindic- (stem of vindex “claimant, protector, avenger”) + -ātus -ate 1
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.
The need "to punish the club and to vindicate those clubs who have complied with the relevant rules" is referenced.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Megan notes that the data vindicate Fed officials’ decision to keep interest rates steady at the January meeting.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
“We are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism,” the president said, “to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
The law can be a maze for Americans trying to vindicate their rights, but at the end is supposed to be an exit leading to justice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
She was hoping this testimony was going to seal it, vindicate all the effort, the pretrial preparation, the way she and others had extended themselves to take on Reggie.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
