vindicate
意味一覧 (2件)
正当性を証明する
解説 Definition
批判・疑い・反対を受けていた人や考えが、後の証拠や結果によって正しかったと示されることを表します。裁判、研究、政策判断など、やや硬い文脈で使われ、単に説明するより「疑いを晴らす」響きがあります。
Vindicate means to show that a person, idea, decision, or warning was right after people doubted or criticized it. It is often used when later evidence, facts, or results remove that doubt and prove the earlier judgment correct. The word is common in formal contexts such as law, research, public policy, and serious debate. It has a stronger feeling than simply explaining something, because it suggests clearing someone or something from suspicion or blame.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
vindicate は justice や defend に近い、硬めの「正しさを取り戻す」語です。claim, decision, theory, warning などと一緒に使われ、後から出た evidence や result が「やはり正しかった」と示す場面でよく出ます。justify は理由を説明して正当化する感じ、vindicate は疑いや批判のあとに証拠・結果が勝たせる感じです。別義の「正す」と混同せず、まずは prove right と結びつけると覚えやすいです。
Think of vindicate as a formal word close to prove right, defend, or restore someone's good name. It often appears with words like claim, decision, theory, or warning, when later evidence or results show that they were correct after doubt or criticism. Justify often means giving reasons to defend something, but vindicate usually means that facts or outcomes do the defending for you. If you remember prove right, the core meaning becomes clear.
例文
New evidence helped vindicate the scientist's original theory.
新しい証拠によって、その科学者の元の理論の正当性が証明された。
The court ruling vindicated her decision to speak out.
その裁判所の判断は、声を上げた彼女の決断が正しかったと示した。
When the storm arrived exactly as predicted, it vindicated the mayor's early warning.
嵐が予想どおりに来たことで、市長の早期警告の正しさが証明された。
正す
(意味 2)解説 Definition
誤った評価・批判・判断を、公的な決定や後の結果によって正しい状態へ戻すこと。日本語の「正す」に近いが、手で修正する correct ではなく、主張や立場の正当性を回復させる硬い表現。
To vindicate means to show that someone or something was right, true, or not guilty after doubt or criticism. It is often used in legal, public, or formal situations. The word suggests that later facts or events prove the person correct.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
このエントリの「正す」は、vindicate の基本義「正当性を証明する」とは別に、かなり硬い文脈で「不正・誤り・害を正す、是正する」に近い使い方として覚えます。daily mistakes を直す correct ではなく、wrong, abuse, injustice, imbalance など重い対象を、制度的・道徳的に正しい状態へ戻す響きです。出会う頻度は低いので、rectify や redress の仲間として整理すると混同しにくくなります。
This rare use of `vindicate` is easier to remember in formal contexts like law, policy, or serious essays. It often appears with abstract problems such as `error`, `abuse`, or `imbalance`, not with simple daily mistakes. Think of it as a stiff, written-word alternative to `correct` or `rectify`.
例文
The evidence vindicated her innocence.
その証拠は彼女の無実を証明した。
His research vindicated the earlier theory.
彼の研究は以前の理論を正当化した。
The court's decision vindicated his claims.
裁判所の決定は彼の主張を正当化した。
vindicate の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ラテン語 vindicare「権利を主張する・解放する」に由来します。vindic- は奪われた正しさや名誉を取り戻す感覚を持ち、vindication「正当性の証明」も同系です。
Vindicate comes from the Latin word vindicare, meaning "to claim a right" or "to set free." Over time, the word developed the sense of restoring someone's rightness, honor, or good name. The related noun vindication also carries the idea of proving that someone or something was right.
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