substantiate

verb (used with object), sub·stan·ti·at·ed, sub·stan·ti·at·ing.

to establish by proof or competent evidence: to substantiate a charge.

to give substantial existence to: to substantiate an idea through action.

to affirm as having substance; give body to; strengthen: to substantiate a friendship.

Origin:
1650–60; < Neo-Latin substantiātus (past participle of substantiāre), equivalent to Latin substanti(a) substance + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

sub·stan·ti·a·ta·ble, adjective

sub·stan·ti·a·tion, noun

sub·stan·ti·a·tive, adjective

sub·stan·ti·a·tor, noun

non·sub·stan·ti·a·tion, noun

re·sub·stan·ti·ate, verb (used with object), re·sub·stan·ti·at·ed, re·sub·stan·ti·at·ing.

re·sub·stan·ti·a·tion, noun

un·sub·stan·ti·at·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. prove, confirm, verify, validate.

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Substantiate is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

substantiate (səbˈstænʃɪˌeɪt)

—vb
1.	to establish as valid or genuine
2.	to give form or real existence to

[C17: from New Latin substantiāre, from Latin substantiasubstance]

substanti'ation

—n

sub'stantiative

—*adj*

sub'stantiator

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

substantiate

1657, "to make real, to give substance to," from Mod.L. substantiatus, pp. of substantiare, from L. substantia (see substance). Meaning "to demonstrate or prove" is attested from 1803.

Example sentences from the web

The few isolated figures found on pottery still cannot substantiate this point.

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documentation establish preaudit prove

Matching Quote

"Every adult, whether he is a follower or a leader, a member of a mass or of an elite, was once a child. He was once small. A sense of smallness forms a substratum in his mind, ineradicably. His triumphs will be measured against this smallness, his defeats will substantiate it. The questions as to who is bigger and who can do or not do this or that, and to whom—these questions fill the adult's inner life far beyond the necessities and the desirabilities which he understands and for which he plans."

-Erik H. Erikson