vindicate
Americanverb (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.
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
Derived Forms
-
vindicatornoun
-
revindicateverb (used with object)
-
self-vindicatedadjective
-
self-vindicatingadjective
-
unvindicatedadjective
-
vindicatoryadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
vindicatesimple
-
vindicatessimple
-
have vindicatedperfect
-
has vindicatedperfect
-
am vindicatingprogressive
-
are vindicatingprogressive
-
is vindicatingprogressive
-
have been vindicatingperfect progressive
-
has been vindicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
vindicatedsimple
-
had vindicatedperfect
-
was vindicatingprogressive
-
were vindicatingprogressive
-
had been vindicatingperfect progressive
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.
Vocabulary lists containing vindicate
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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.
See Examples For:
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
In his first Madrid spell, he pushed for Luka Modric, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil, and history would vindicate all three choices.
From BBC ● May 13, 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
She expected me to vindicate her life for her, and the choices she’d made.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admitted his side were fortunate with the decision, and feels it vindicates the use of VAR, even if his side benefited on this occassion from its absence.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 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
“This ruling both vindicates what I have done in the past and gives me the strength to continue fearlessly doing the people’s business in the months and years ahead,” Ms. Frenchko said in a statement.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
One who avenges or vindicates; as, an avenger of blood.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah
Lawyers acting on the landowners' behalf said they had been "vindicated".
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
After Stagg convinces the leaders to postpone D-day, he is vindicated by a deluge of rain that arrives while everyone is attending church at Southwark House on June 5.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security, which comprises ICE, said on X it was confident it would be "vindicated in this case."
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
By beating the Soviets to the moon, the U.S. vindicated its “norms and standards, our values as a society.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 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
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
Now, another war is vindicating Beijing’s decision to view this as a critical sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
For Ali Salehpour, it felt somewhat vindicating to hear those words.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
