What does "vindicate" mean?
Vindicate: To maintain or defend with success; to prove to be valid; to assert convincingly; to sustain against assault; as, to vindicate a right, claim, or title.
Additional senses
- 2.To support or maintain as true or correct, against denial, censure, or objections; to defend; to justify. When the respondent denies any proposition, the opponent must directly vindicate . . . that proposition. I. Watts. Laugh where we must, be candid where we can, But vindicate the ways of God to man. Pope.
- 3.To maintain, as a law or a cause, by overthrowing enemies. Milton.
- 4.To liberate; to set free; to deliver. [Obs.] I am confident he deserves much more That vindicates his country from a tyrant Than he that saves a citizen. Massinger.
- 5.To avenge; to punish; as, a war to vindicate or punish infidelity. [Obs.] Bacon. God is more powerful to exact subjection and to vindicate rebellion. Bp. Pearson. See Assert.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00