verify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to prove the truth of, as by evidence or testimony; confirm; substantiate.
Events verified his prediction.
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to ascertain the truth or correctness of, as by examination, research, or comparison.
to verify a spelling.
- Synonyms:
- validate, authenticate
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to act as ultimate proof or evidence of; serve to confirm.
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Law.
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to prove or confirm (an allegation).
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to state to be true, especially in legal use, formally or upon oath.
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verb
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to prove to be true; confirm; substantiate
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to check or determine the correctness or truth of by investigation, reference, etc
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law to add a verification to (a pleading); substantiate or confirm (an oath)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of verify
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English verifien, from Middle French verifier, from Medieval Latin vērificāre, from vēri- (combining form of vērus “true”) + -ficāre -fy
Explanation
When you verify something, you show that it's true. Do you have a photograph to verify your claim that there's a dinosaur in your backyard? Physical evidence and records are often used to verify what's happened. Your receipt verifies that you purchased the tall, striped hat you'd now like to return. You can also verify something verbally. Can you verify that your cat was home all evening on the night of the canary's "accident"?
Vocabulary lists containing verify
List 1
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Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Walt Disney Co. rolled out its facial recognition technology in late April across Disneyland Resort to verify tickets.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
That kind of progress highlights the long term need for precise entangled measurements, because future quantum networks will depend on the ability to create, route, verify, and transfer fragile quantum states.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
In total, lenders provided around $3.5 billion to MFS entities but administrators said they could only verify around $1.6 billion in actual loans made by the entities, plus cash balances of around $233 million.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
BBC News NI asked Official Charts if this would be the case, but so far they have not been able to verify the claim.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
I felt a relentless desire to ask people to verify whether they were seeing what I was seeing.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
