Proved or shown to be right, true, or justified; cleared of blame or suspicion.
From Latin 'vindicatus' (past participle of vindicare), meaning 'to claim, avenge, or justify.' The prefix 'vin-' relates to 'vindicta' (revenge), but the modern sense shifted toward 'proving right' rather than avenging by the 14th century.
Vindicating someone was originally about avenging them (vin-), but English speakers flipped it to mean proving them right—so the word literally transformed from aggressive (revenge) to defensive (proving innocence), which reflects a shift in how justice was understood.
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