vindicate

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The Word of the Day for May 3 is:

vindicate   \VIN-duh-kayt\   verb
     1 : avenge 
     2 : to free from allegation or blame 
     3 *a : confirm, substantiate  b : to provide justification 
or defense for : justify 

Example sentence:
     The latest discovery appeared to vindicate the scientist's 
theory about the origins of the universe.

Did you know? 
     It's not surprising that the two earliest senses 
of "vindicate," which has been used in English since at least 
the mid-16th century, are "to set free, deliver" (a sense that 
is now obsolete) and "to avenge." "Vindicate" derives from the 
Latin "vindicatus," the past participle of the verb "vindicare," 
meaning "to set free, avenge, lay claim to." "Vindicare," in 
turn, derives from "vindex," a noun meaning "claimant, avenger." 
Other descendants of "vindicare" in English include such 
vengeful words as "avenge" itself, "revenge," "vengeance," 
"vendetta," and "vindictive."  Closer cousins of "vindicate" 
are "vindicable" ("capable of being vindicated") and the 
archaic "vindicative" ("punitive").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.