vindication
/ˌvɪndəˈkeɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An argument, fact, piece of evidence, etc., which vindicates (“clears someone of an accusation or suspicion; justifies a belief or claim by providing evidence or proof”).
Countable
Example Sentences
- "[T]he loud "Aye, Aye" of the bulk of the members [of Parliament] supported [John] Eliot in his last vindication of English liberty."
- "The Soldiers publiſh'd a vindication, as they call'd it, of their Proceedings and Reſolutions, and directed it to their General; in vvhich they complain'd of a deſign to disband, and nevv model the Army; […] This Apology, or Vindication, being ſign'd by many inferior Officers, the Parliament declared them to be Enemies of the State; and cauſed ſome of them vvho talked loudeſt, to be impriſon'd."
- "The great vindication of evil is, that (constituted as we are) we could not know so much joy, nor manifest so much virtue without it; and certainly, in instances like these, it fetches out, under circumstances of the extremest weakness, the most beautiful strength of the human heart."
- "Among its [Milan's] Natural Curioſities I took particular notice of a Piece of Crystal, that enclos'd a couple of Drops, vvhich look'd like VVater vvhen they vvere ſhaken, tho' perhaps they are nothing but Bubbles of Air. […] The Famous Pere [Jean] Mabillon is novv engag'd in the Vindication of this Tear, vvhich a learned Eccleſiaſtic, in the Neighbourhood of Vendome, vvould have ſuppreſs'd, as a Falſe and ridiculous Relick, […]"
- "These are the reasons which I have gathered from philosophy and nature; to which I can add other circumstances in vindication of the account of this learned body who publish this almanack."
- "[H]e was satisfied that Alice yet lived; he hoped she might yet escape and return. […] He enriched Mrs. Jones for life, in gratitude for her vindication of his lost and early love: he promised the amplest rewards for the smallest clue."
Etymology
From Late Middle English vendicacion, vyndicacion, vyndycacion (“assertion of a claim”), from Old French vindication (“revenge, vengeance”) (modern dialectal French vindication), or from Medieval Latin vendicātio, both from Latin vindicātiō (“avenging; defence, protection, vindication; punishment; etc.”), from vindicō (“to avenge; to take revenge on; to protect from; etc.”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns from verbs, denoting processes, actions, or results of actions). Vindicō is derived from vindex (“claimant, vindicator; defender, protector”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); and vindex from vim (the accusative singular form of vīs (“force; power, strength; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- (“to chase, pursue; to persecute; to suppress”)) + dīcere (the present active infinitive of dīcō (“to declare, state; to refer to; to say, talk; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out, show”)). By surface analysis, vindicate + -ion (suffix denoting an action or process, or its result).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *weyh₁-, vendicacion, vindication, vendicātio, vindicātiō, *deyḱ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌvɪndəˈkeɪʃən/
- British English: /ˌvɪndɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
counter-vindication