Synonyms

vindicate

American

[vin-di-keyt] / ˈvɪn dɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or 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 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.

vindicate British

/ ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪt /

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

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

Explanation

Vindicate means to justify, prove, or reinforce an idea — or to absolve from guilt. If your family thinks you hogged the last piece of pie on Thanksgiving, you'll be vindicated when your younger brother fesses up. Vindicate derives from the Latin vindicatus, which is the past tense of vindicare, meaning "lay claim to" or "avenge." When a physicist proves a theory that his colleagues derided, he vindicates it. When a lawyer clears her client's name in a trial, she vindicates him. Machiavelli argued that the results he got vindicated his tactics — in other words, the ends justified the means.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing vindicate

100 Top "SAT" Words

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Antigone

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

The Scarlet Letter

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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.

See Examples For:

vindicate vindicates vindicated vindicating

In written arguments, they said an additional three years "utterly fails to reflect the gravity of the offending or vindicate the dignity of each of the four victims".

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The worker just doesn’t get to vindicate their rights.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Over mint tea, Mr. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha speaks with the precision of a man who has watched history vindicate and betray his dynasty in equal measure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 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

Trouble arose only when authors used their stories to vindicate themselves against a great hurt or perceived injustice.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

To AI-safety experts, it vindicates what they have been warning about all along: that AI systems would cause real-world harms and evade attempts to control them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

These analysts will claim that the stock market’s huge rally to begin this week’s trading vindicates their beliefs.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026

Only a win vindicates the Canberra decision and can ensure a peaceful holiday in Noosa after the Test.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

Both the police and Gascón’s chief of staff, Joseph Iniguez, claim the video vindicates their respective interpretations of events.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2024

So Lightfoot, who vindicates the emphatic place he has assigned to αὐτόν by the not very close parallels John ix.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener

Economists who don’t think the Fed needs to hike this year felt vindicated.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Pauling may never be fully vindicated, but neither was he simply deluded.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The vast majority of accused parents will be vindicated, but only after a stressful, unjustified process.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, the major US city that withdrew as a host of the World Cup, appears to feel vindicated by the decision.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

By the time she stalked out of Dona Luz headquarters two hours later, having been badgered unmercifully and then vindicated at least partially by rent-a-car records in the capital, Abby was fuming.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

So watching the rest of the world finally catch up feels a little vindicating.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

A second theme for this Court is vindicating liberties in the Bill of Rights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

But the case was a close one with only five justices full-throatedly vindicating the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protection goals.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

Menisa Sesay said it showed the legal reforms for which they had fought so hard were finally being enforced, vindicating their mission to protect the rights of vulnerable women and girls.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Thus vindicating those who bore influence in her formative years.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023