vindicate

[ vin-di-keyt ]

/ ˈvɪn dɪˌkeɪt /

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See synonyms for: vindicate / vindicated / vindicator on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), vin·di·cat·ed, vin·di·cat·ing.

to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like: to vindicate someone's honor.

to afford justification for; justify: Subsequent events vindicated his policy.

to uphold or justify by argument or evidence: to vindicate a claim.

to assert, maintain, or defend (a right, cause, etc.) against opposition.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR vindicate

1 exonerate.

3, 4 substantiate.

See synonyms for vindicate on Thesaurus.com

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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 -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM vindicate

vin·di·ca·tor, nounre·vin·di·cate, verb (used with object), re·vin·di·cat·ed, re·vin·di·cat·ing.self-vin·di·cat·ed, adjectiveself-vin·di·cat·ing, adjective

un·vin·di·cat·ed, adjective

Words nearby vindicate

vin de table, Vindhya Hills, Vindhya Pradesh, Vindhya Range, vindicable, vindicate, vindication, vindicator, vindicatory, vindictive, vindictiveness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vindicate in a sentence

Barrios said Monday that his opponent, San Diego Community College Trustee Sean Elo-Rivera, was behind the allegations of financial impropriety, but erroneously claimed that he had already been vindicated by four different organizations.
Gómez ‘Pausing’ Barrios Support Amid Criminal Investigation|Andrew Keatts|August 26, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Late Monday, Barrios issued a press release defending himself, in which he made four specific claims about the various entities that had already vindicated him of the charges.
Morning Report: Nursing Home Oversight Falters|Voice of San Diego|August 26, 2020|Voice of San Diego
After the Union-Tribune reported he was under criminal investigation, Kelvin Barrios, a candidate in the District 9 City Council race, issued a press release announcing four ways in which he had been vindicated.
Barrios Makes Dubious Claims on Investigations Into His Spending|Jesse Marx|August 25, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Let’s go after the bad guys, even those who committed these violations two or three years ago, beyond the previous statute of limitations, and make sure that the consumer interest is vindicated here.
Can You Hear Me Now? (Ep. 406)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 20, 2020|Freakonomics

Maybe at some level, we may be drawn to those stories perhaps because they may seem to vindicate our own failures to intervene in some cases.
5 Psychology Terms You’re Probably Misusing (Ep. 334 Rebroadcast)|Stephen J. Dubner|January 9, 2020|Freakonomics
The present needs to vindicate the president, whoever he or she may be.
Our Lame Cult of the Presidency|James Poulos|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And even if that was true, it wouldn't vindicate a disparity that plainly affected her and presumably other women at the paper.
The Hypocrisy Behind The New York Times’s Abrupt Decapitation of Jill Abramson|Robert Shrum|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Failing to vindicate a loss or injury is a sign of faulty moral character.
Our Right to Revenge After the Boston Attacks|Thane Rosenbaum|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some top White House aide is dispatched to tell us pooh-poohers that events ultimate will vindicate the president.
Where's Your Mojo, Obama?|Matt Latimer|March 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
History, the White House always says, will vindicate the president.
Where's Your Mojo, Obama?|Matt Latimer|March 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I thought it not convenient to vindicate him much now, but time will serve when I will do it, and I am bound to do it.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys
She could not vindicate her friend without criminating her father.
The Two Admirals|J. Fenimore Cooper
But I cannot vindicate Kingston society against the charge of surpassing dulness.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863|Various
I write this story not to vindicate my own wit nor to point out new paths for human thought to follow.
The Iron Puddler|James J. Davis
In this manner did Providence take the cunning persecutor in his own snare, and vindicate the cause of his oppressed people.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I|Francis Augustus Cox

British Dictionary definitions for vindicate

vindicate

/ (ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to clear from guilt, accusation, blame, etc, as by evidence or argument

to provide justification forhis 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

Derived forms of vindicate

vindicator, nounvindicatory, adjective

Word Origin for vindicate

C17: from Latin vindicāre, from vindex claimant

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

vindicate

OTHER WORDS FOR vindicate

Origin of vindicate

OTHER WORDS FROM vindicate

Words nearby vindicate

Words related to vindicate

How to use vindicate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vindicate

Derived forms of vindicate

Word Origin for vindicate