vindication
Americannoun
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the act of vindicating.
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the state of being vindicated.
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defense; excuse; justification.
Poverty was a vindication for his thievery.
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something that vindicates.
Subsequent events were her vindication.
noun
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the act of vindicating or the condition of being vindicated
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a means of exoneration from an accusation
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a fact, evidence, circumstance, etc, that serves to vindicate a theory or claim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of vindication
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin vindicātiōn-, stem of vindicātiō “defense, punishment, vengeance”; equivalent to vindicate + -ion
Explanation
Vindication is a sweet thing — when you get vindication, you've been proven right or justified in doing something. Everyone accused of a crime craves vindication. Vindication is good, but it can only come after something bad, like being accused of something you didn't do. If a teacher thought you cheated, but then announced to the whole class that you didn't, you're getting vindication. An accused criminal who is exonerated — cleared of the crime — gets vindication. If you believe something crazy — like that your underdog sports team could win a championship — and it comes true, that's a vindication of your beliefs.
Vocabulary lists containing vindication
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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The Kite Runner
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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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.
There was also vindication for some of Lifeson’s more adventurous guitar work of the early ’80s, when he all but invented a new chime-laden language of soloing.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The recent software rally has offered some vindication for bulls who stood by their contrarian calls after a brutal selloff wracked the sector earlier this year.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
Polymarket said it cooperated with the investigations into Spagnuolo and Van Dyke and hailed their arrests as vindication for its blockchain-based model.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
She felt the decision, by the National Referral Mechanism, was "a validation and a vindication of what I said to the Met when I first reported back in 2024", she said.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
The noise was deafening even beneath the water, but with fear also came a kind of giddy vindication.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
