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.
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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:
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
Stopping the war weeks short would vindicate their Hormuz strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 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
Julia and Mark discuss the remaining paths to justice after the killing of Renee Good and examine what happens when the DOJ abandons its duty to seek accountability and vindicate civil rights.
From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2026
Still, Picasso believed in his vision, and he believed that the future would vindicate him.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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
GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos said the decision "vindicates GB News' position as the fearless defender of free speech in the United Kingdom", while Ofcom said it "accepted the court's guidance".
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 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
"Felix Holt," like "Alton Locke," abounds in noble sentiments, exalts the character of working men, vindicates their social claims with eloquence.
From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Holyoake, George Jacob
Lawyers acting on the landowners' behalf said they had been "vindicated".
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
“And Mr. Mayweather looks forward to being vindicated through the court proceedings.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 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
In 2014, his vision was vindicated; the unit successfully treated its first Ebola patients.
From Slate ● May 14, 2026
In time, both the theories would be spectacularly vindicated, and spectacularly demolished.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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
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.
