corroboration

American  

[kuh-rob-uh-rey-shuhn] / kəˌrɒb əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of corroborating.

2. a corroboratory fact, statement, etc.

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Other Word Forms

• noncorroboration noun

Etymology

Origin of corroboration

1425–75; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Late Latin corroborātiōn- (stem of corroborātiō ). See corroborate, -ion

Explanation

If you tell your boss you couldn't go to work because you were sick and then produce a doctor's note, that's corroboration — a fancy term for "evidence" — something that backs up a statement or a theory. Corroboration is probably the kind of word you wouldn't use in casual conversation; you would more likely use proof, for example. It's generally used in a more technical or formal sense, regarding a legal case, perhaps, or a scientific experiment, as in: "Physicists today are finding increasing corroboration that Einstein's theories were correct."

Example Sentences

A lawyer for Black said there was “no corroboration by other witnesses of the allegation.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

Even with this corroboration, I still worried about the veracity of what Byers was telling me, especially when he began speaking about the committee hearing itself.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2025

There was no immediate corroboration of the figure from other sources.

From Barron's • Oct. 29, 2025

That was “pretty good corroboration of what we’re proposing,” Goldfinger said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

In the post-Columbus, post-Galilean world no one could dispute that important discoveries depended solely on the corroboration of eyewitnesses.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• affirmation
• validation
• verification