Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Affording vindication; justifying.
  • adjective Exacting retribution; punitive.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Tending to vindicate; justificatory.
  • Punitory; inflicting punishment; avenging.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Tending or serving to vindicate or justify; justificatory; vindicative.
  • adjective Inflicting punishment; avenging; punitory.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Promoting or producing vindication.
  • adjective Promoting or producing retribution or punishment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective given or inflicted in requital according to merits or deserts
  • adjective providing justification
  • adjective of or relating to or having the nature of retribution

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

vindicate +‎ -ory

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Examples

  • The acknowledging of this truth has a respect not only to the manifestation of his justice, but also of the wisdom, holiness, and dominion of God over his creatures: for that justice which, in respect of its effect and egress, we call vindicatory, which, as we have before demonstrated, is natural to

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

  • But this is that universal perfection of God, which, when he exercises [it] in punishing the transgressions of his creatures, is called vindicatory justice; for whatever there be in God perpetually inherent, whatever excellence there be essential to his nature, which occasions his displeasure with sin, and which necessarily occasions this displeasure, this is that justice of which we are speaking.

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

  • But this holiness is the universal perfection of God, which, when exercised in punishing the sins of the creatures, is called vindicatory justice; that is, in relation to its exercise and effects, for in reality the holiness and justice of God are the same, neither of which, considered in itself and absolutely, differs from the divine nature, whence they are frequently used the one for the other.

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

  • The lawyers tell us that, of all the departments of the law, the vindicatory is the most important.

    Dukesborough tales 1871

  • "It is clear," says this "vindicatory" excerpt, "that a conspiracy has been formed to defame the Judge Advocate

    A belle of the fifties : memoirs of Mrs. Clay, of Alabama, covering social and political life in Washington and the South, 1853-66, 1905

  • If it is determined that the philosophical conception is empirically adequate, the result is vindicatory.

    Hanging 2009

  • Williams argues, Nietzsche is on his side, not the deniers ', because Nietzsche himself believes that, while a vindicatory history of the notions of truth and truthfulness certainly has to be a naturalistic one, that is not to say that such a history is impossible.

    Bernard Williams Chappell, Timothy 2006

  • But the justice which respects things done is either that of government, or jurisdiction or judgment; and this, again, they affirm to be either remunerative or corrective, but that corrective is either castigatory or vindicatory.

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

  • His supreme right, dominion, and vindicatory justice are of no account with them.

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

  • But if God hate sin by nature, then by nature he is just, and vindicatory justice is natural to him.

    A Dissertation on Divine Justice 1616-1683 1967

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