Nearby Words

vindicate

[vin-di-keyt] Origin

vin·di·cate

[vin-di-keyt]
verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
1.
to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like: to vindicate someone's honor.
2.
to afford justification for; justify: Subsequent events vindicated his policy.
3.
to uphold or justify by argument or evidence: to vindicate a claim.
4.
to assert, maintain, or defend (a right, cause, etc.) against opposition.
5.
to claim for oneself or another.
EXPAND
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.
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1525–35; < 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 -ate1

vin·di·ca·tor, noun
re·vin·di·cate, verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
self-vin·di·cat·ed, adjective
self-vin·di·cat·ing, adjective
un·vin·di·cat·ed, adjective


1. exonerate. 3, 4. support.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Vindicate is a GRE word you need to know.
So is ingenuous. Does it mean:
free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation
a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained, or a freethinker in religious matters
Collins
World English Dictionary
vindicate (ˈvɪndɪˌkeɪt)
 
vb
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
 
[C17: from Latin vindicāre, from vindex claimant]
 
'vindicator
 
n
 
'vindicatory
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

vindicate
1620s, "to avenge or revenge," from L. vindicatus, pp. of vindicare (see vindication). Meaning "to clear from censure or doubt, by means of demonstration" is recorded from 1630s. Related: Vindicated, vindicating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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