demonstration

[ dem-uhn-strey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or circumstance of proving or being proved conclusively, as by reasoning or a show of evidence:

   a belief incapable of demonstration.

2. something serving as proof or supporting evidence:

   They sent a check as a demonstration of their concern.

3. a description or explanation, as of a process, illustrated by examples, specimens, or the like:

   a demonstration of methods of refining ore.

4. the act of exhibiting the operation or use of a device, machine, process, product, or the like, as to a prospective buyer.
5. an exhibition, as of feeling; display; manifestation:

   His demonstration of affection was embarrassing.

6. a public exhibition of the attitude of a group of persons toward a controversial issue, or other matter, made by picketing, parading, etc.
7. a show of military force or of offensive operations made to deceive an enemy.
8. Mathematics. a logical presentation of the way in which given assumptions imply a certain result; proof.

demonstration

/ ˌdɛmənˈstreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of demonstrating
2. proof or evidence leading to proof
3. an explanation, display, illustration, or experiment showing how something works
4. a manifestation of grievances, support, or protest by public rallies, parades, etc
5. a manifestation of emotion
6. a show of military force or preparedness
7. maths a logical presentation of the assumptions and equations used in solving a problem or proving a theorem

Derived Forms

• ˌdemonˈstrationist, noun
• ˌdemonˈstrational, adjective

Other Words From

• demon·stration·al adjective
• demon·stration·ist noun
• counter·demon·stration noun
• predem·on·stration noun
• redem·on·stration noun
• subdem·on·stration noun
• super·demon·stration noun
• undem·on·stration·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of demonstration¹

1325–75; Middle English demonstracioun < Latin dēmonstrātiōn- (stem of dēmonstrātiō, equivalent to dēmonstrāt ( us ) ( demonstrate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

ClearFlame is also conducting a demonstration on a Cummins engine platform supported by funding from the Department of Energy.

From TechCrunch

Next month, the company will unveil a demonstration aircraft called the XB-1, a new supersonic-capable plane that is one-third the size of what they hope their commercial airliner will be.

From Popular-Science

Federal officials have arrested more than 300 people since the demonstrations began.

From Fortune

There’s a lot of demonstrations that were happening in LA for years that I didn’t know about until all of this.

From Ozy

It was the beginning of a week of unrest and protests that mirrored destructive demonstrations seen earlier this summer following police violence.

From Vox

The reviews in themselves constitute a demonstration of why the regime restricts the Internet.

From The Daily Beast

As Sarah and her sister and mother headed for the warmth of home, the demonstration continued.

From The Daily Beast

Not that the demonstration had anything to do with this couple, whom Sarah seems to see as a fairy tale come to life.

From The Daily Beast

There is an extreme demonstration of this divide in the nation.

From The Daily Beast

For anyone who cared to watch, the event and its denouement provided a graphic demonstration that the Iron Curtain was crumbling.

From The Daily Beast

But for the delinquency of his son, she had ocular demonstration; and her indignation was hardly to be repressed.

From Project Gutenberg

Already its demonstration had tried her temper, but to-night, for the first time, she felt her whole being set on edge by it.

From Project Gutenberg

He determined therefore to make a threatening demonstration by day and slip past it by night.

From Project Gutenberg

When they form short chains, demonstration of the capsule is necessary to distinguish them from streptococci.

From Project Gutenberg

This truth is as old as Homer, and its proofs are as capable of demonstration as a mathematical axiom.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• expression
• manifestation
• presentation
• show
• test
• testimony
• trial