vindicate

American  

[vin-di-kayt] / ˈvɪn dɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• vindicates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vindicated,
  past participle,  past
• vindicating
  present participle

1. to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like.

   to vindicate someone's honor.

   Synonyms:

   exonerate

2. to afford justification for; justify.

   Subsequent events vindicated his policy.

3. to uphold or justify by argument or evidence.

   to vindicate a claim.

   Synonyms:

   substantiate

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

   Synonyms:

   substantiate

5. to claim for oneself or another.

6. Roman and Civil Law. to regain possession, under claim of title of property through legal procedure, or to assert one's right to possession.

7. to get revenge for; avenge.

8. Obsolete. to deliver from; liberate.

9. Obsolete. to punish.

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vindicate British  

/ ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪt /

verb

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

2. to provide justification for

   his promotion vindicated his unconventional attitude

3. to uphold, maintain, or defend (a cause, etc)

   to vindicate a claim

4. Roman law to bring an action to regain possession of (property) under claim of legal title

5. rare to claim, as for oneself or another

6. obsolete to take revenge on or for; punish

7. obsolete to set free

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vindicator
  noun
• revindicate
  verb (used with object)
• self-vindicated
  adjective
• self-vindicating
  adjective
• unvindicated
  adjective
• vindicatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• vindicating
  present
• vindicated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vindicate
  simple
• vindicates
  simple
• have vindicated
  perfect
• has vindicated
  perfect
• am vindicating
  progressive
• are vindicating
  progressive
• is vindicating
  progressive
• have been vindicating
  perfect progressive
• has been vindicating
  perfect progressive

Past

• vindicated
  simple
• had vindicated
  perfect
• was vindicating
  progressive
• were vindicating
  progressive
• had been vindicating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vindicate
  simple
• will have vindicated
  perfect
• will be vindicating
  progressive
• will have been vindicating
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vindicate vindicates vindicated vindicating

Holmes and Evans welcomed the cameras, hoping they would help vindicate her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

If that version is ever unearthed, it may perhaps vindicate the director.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

They can go into federal court and sue and vindicate their rights that way immediately.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

This would vindicate the Fed’s July caution in defying the clamor from the media and financial back benches to raise rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Still, Picasso believed in his vision, and he believed that the future would vindicate him.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar added on X that the decision "vindicates Pakistan's consistent position that a binding international treaty cannot be unilaterally suspended or set aside".

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

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

This is a moment really that vindicates truth-telling.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2025

Du Maurier vindicates the generation that has produced Gavarni and Woodhull.

From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by James Parton

No one is more vindicated than poor Mike, who has tried to persuade Pella of the school’s beauty from the start: “A place you give your heart to is never a way station.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

The result also vindicated Van’s claim to the championship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Canadian Blake Parnham recalled that moment: "I was sobbing watching the game at home because I felt so vindicated, that Buffalo is different."

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Admirers cheered that the court had at last vindicated Andrew Johnson.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

They were vindicated; the program was correct, events were progressing in their predetermined direction, history was on their side, and Harlem loved them.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

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

“He looks forward to vindicating himself in court, where such matters are decided — and not in the media — based on admissible, material evidence, not rank speculation and unsubstantiated allegations.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Now, another war is vindicating Beijing’s decision to view this as a critical sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Thus vindicating those who bore influence in her formative years.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

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Related Words

• absolve
• acquit
• corroborate
• defend
• disprove
• exonerate
• justify
• prove
• refute
• substantiate
• uphold

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