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
- nonvindication noun
- revindication noun
- self-vindication noun
Etymology
Origin of vindication
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin vindicātiōn-, stem of vindicātiō “defense, punishment, vengeance”; equivalent to vindicate + -ion
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.
“And we look forward to vindication on appeal.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
That verdict also stated "the requirements of deterrence, vindication of compliant clubs, and the protection of the integrity of the sport demand a sporting sanction in the form of a points deduction".
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
That might feel like vindication for regional banks.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026
Some people wanted to see Simpson punished, while others viewed his acquittal as vindication, however meager, for decades’ worth of societal abuse.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026
As befit the man who had challenged Ernest Rutherford’s disparagement of atomic power as “moonshine” back in 1933, Ernest Lawrence’s first instinct was to take the news of fission as vindication.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
