12 results for: prove

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

prove

Audio Help [proov] Pronunciation Key verb, proved, proved or prov·en, prov·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to establish the truth or genuineness of, as by evidence or argument: to prove one's claim.

2.	Law. to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will); probate.

3.	to give demonstration of by action.

4.	to subject to a test, experiment, comparison, analysis, or the like, to determine quality, amount, acceptability, characteristics, etc.: to prove ore.

5.	to show (oneself) to have the character or ability expected of one, esp. through one's actions.

6.	Mathematics. to verify the correctness or validity of by mathematical demonstration or arithmetical proof.

7.	Also, proof. Printing. to take a trial impression of (type, a cut, etc.).

8.	to cause (dough) to rise to the necessary lightness.

9.	Archaic. to experience.

–verb (used without object)

10.	to turn out: The experiment proved to be successful.

11.	to be found by trial or experience to be: His story proved false.

12.	(of dough) to rise to a specified lightness: Leave covered until it has proved.

[Origin: 1125–75; ME proven < OF prover < L probāre to try, test, prove, approve, deriv. of probus good. See probity

]

—Related forms

prov·a·ble, adjective

prov·a·bil·i·ty, prov·a·ble·ness, noun

prov·a·bly, adverb

prov·en·ly, adverb

prover, noun

—Synonyms 1. demonstrate, confirm, substantiate, verify.

—Antonyms 1. disprove.

—Usage note Either proved or proven is standard as the past participle of prove: Events have proved (or proven) him wrong. As a modifier, proven is by far the more common: a proven fact.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
prove

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

prove Audio Help   (prōōv) Pronunciation Key
v.   proved, proved or prov·en (prōō'vən), prov·ing, proves

v.   tr.

To establish the truth or validity of by presentation of argument or evidence.
Law To establish the authenticity of (a will).
To determine the quality of by testing; try out.
Mathematics
1. To demonstrate the validity of (a hypothesis or proposition).
2. To verify (the result of a calculation).
Printing To make a sample impression of (type).
Archaic To find out or learn (something) through experience.

v. intr.
To be shown to be such; turn out: a theory that proved impractical in practice.

Phrasal Verb(s):
prove out
To turn out well; succeed.

[Middle English proven, from Old French prover, from Latin probāre, to test, from probus, good; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

prov'a·bil'i·ty, prov'a·ble·ness n., prov'a·ble adj., prov'a·bly adv., prov'en·ly adv., prov'er n.

Usage Note: Prove has two past participles: proved and proven. Proved is the older form. Proven is a variant. The Middle English spellings of prove included preven, a form that died out in England but survived in Scotland, and the past participle proven, a form that probably rose by analogy with verbs like weave, woven and cleave, cloven. Proven was originally used in Scottish legal contexts, such as The jury ruled that the charges were not proven. In the 20th century, proven has made inroads into the territory once dominated by proved, so that now the two forms compete on equal footing as participles. However, when used as an adjective before a noun, proven is now the more common word: a proven talent.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prove

c.1175, prouwe, from O.Fr. prover (11c.), from L. probare "to test, prove worthy," from probus "worthy, good, upright, virtuous," from PIE *pro-bhwo- "being in front," from *pro-, extended form of base *per-, + base *bhu- "to be" (cf. L. fui "I have been," futurus "about to be;" O.E. beon "to be;" see be).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

prove
verb
1.	be shown or be found to be; "She proved to be right"; "The medicine turned out to save her life"; "She turned up HIV positive"
2.	establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture" [ant: confute]
3.	provide evidence for; "The blood test showed that he was the father"; "Her behavior testified to her incompetence" [syn: testify]
4.	prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof
5.	put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe" [syn: test]
6.	increase in volume; "the dough rose slowly in the warm room" [syn: rise]
7.	cause to puff up with a leaven; "unleavened bread" [syn: raise]
8.	take a trial impression of
9.	obtain probate of; "prove a will"

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

prove

In addition to the idiom beginning with prove, also see exception proves the rule.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
prove1 [pruːv] verb

to show to be true or correct
Example: This fact proves his guilt; He was proved guilty; Can you prove your theory?

Arabic:	يُبَرْهِن
Chinese (Simplified):	证实
Chinese (Traditional):	證實
Czech:	dokázat
Danish:	bevise
Dutch:	bewijzen
Estonian:	tõestama
Finnish:	todistaa
French:	prouver
German:	beweisen
Greek:	αποδεικνύω
Hungarian:	(be)bizonyít
Icelandic:	sanna
Indonesian:	membuktikan
Italian:	provare, dimostrare

Japanese:	証明する
Korean:	증명하다
Latvian:	pierādīt
Lithuanian:	įrodyti
Norwegian:	bevise, bekrefte
Polish:	dowodzić
Portuguese (Brazil):	provar
Portuguese (Portugal):	provar
Romanian:	a dovedi
Russian:	доказывать
Slovak:	dokázať
Slovenian:	dokazati
Spanish:	probar
Swedish:	bevisa, styrka
Turkish:	kanıtlamak, ispat etmek

prove2 [pruːv] verb

to turn out, or be found, to be
Example: His suspicions proved (to be) correct; This tool proved very useful.

Arabic:	يَتَّضِح، يَتَبَيَّن أنَّه
Chinese (Simplified):	证明
Chinese (Traditional):	證明
Czech:	ukázat se
Danish:	vise sig
Dutch:	blijken
Estonian:	osutuma
Finnish:	osoittautua
French:	(s')avérer
German:	sich erweisen als
Greek:	αποδεικνύομαι
Hungarian:	bizonyul
Icelandic:	reynast
Indonesian:	ternyata
Italian:	dimostrarsi, rivelarsi

Japanese:	～だとわかる
Korean:	…으로 판명되다, …이 되다
Latvian:	izrādīties
Lithuanian:	pasirodyti
Norwegian:	vise seg å være
Polish:	okazać się
Portuguese (Brazil):	mostrar ser
Portuguese (Portugal):	mostrar ser
Romanian:	a se dovedi
Russian:	оказываться
Slovak:	ukázať sa
Slovenian:	pokazati se
Spanish:	resultar
Swedish:	visa sig vara
Turkish:	…-duğu ortaya çıkmak, anlaşılmak

See also: proven, "prove" in any language

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: prove
Pronunciation: 'prüv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: proved; proved or prov·en /'prü-v&n/; prov·ing
1 : to test the truth, validity, or genuineness of <prove a will at probate>
2 a : to establish the existence, truth, or validity of <the charges were never proved in court> b : to provide sufficient proof of or that <proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt> —prov·able /'prü-v&-b&l/ adjective —prov·able·ness noun —prov·ably /'prü-v&-blE/ adverb

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Prove

Ap*prove"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Approved; p. pr. & vb. n. Approving.] [OE. aproven, appreven, to prove, OF. aprover, F. approuver, to approve, fr. L. approbare; ad + probare to esteem as good, approve, prove. See Prove, and cf. Approbate.]

1. To show to be real or true; to prove. [Obs.]

Wouldst thou approve thy constancy? Approve First thy obedience. --Milton.

2. To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.

Opportunities to approve . . . worth. --Emerson.

He had approved himself a great warrior. --Macaulay.

'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true. --Byron.

His account . . . approves him a man of thought. --Parkman.

3. To sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial.

4. To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of; as, we approve the measured of the administration.

5. To make or show to be worthy of approbation or acceptance.

The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God. --Rogers.

Note: This word, when it signifies to be pleased with, to think favorably (of), is often followed by of.

They had not approved of the deposition of James. --Macaulay.

They approved of the political institutions. --W. Black.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Prove

Prob"a*ble\, a. [L. probabilis, fr. probare to try, approve, prove: cf. F. probable. See Prove, and cf. Provable.]

1. Capable of being proved. [Obs.]

2. Having more evidence for than against; supported by evidence which inclines the mind to believe, but leaves some room for doubt; likely.

That is accounted probable which has better arguments producible for it than can be brought against it. --South.

I do not say that the principles of religion are merely probable; I have before asserted them to be morally certain. --Bp. Wilkins.

3. Rendering probable; supporting, or giving ground for, belief, but not demonstrating; as, probable evidence; probable presumption. --Blackstone.

Probable cause (Law), a reasonable ground of presumption that a charge is, or my be, well founded.

Probable error (of an observation, or of the mean of a number), that within which, taken positively and negatively, there is an even chance that the real error shall lie. Thus, if 3[sec] is the probable error in a given case, the chances that the real error is greater than 3[sec] are equal to the chances that it is less. The probable error is computed from the observations made, and is used to express their degree of accuracy.

The probable, that which is within the bounds of probability; that which is not unnatural or preternatural; -- opposed to the marvelous.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

PROVE

PROVE: in Acronym Finder

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