prove
/ˈpɹuv/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.77 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear out; to testify.
Transitive verb
verb
To turn out to be.
verb
Alternative form of proof (“allow (dough) to rise; test the activeness of (yeast); pressure-test (a firearm)”).
Example Sentences
- "[VV]e are able with playne demonſtration to proue, and vvith reaſon to perſvvade that in tymes paſt our fayth vvas alike, that then vve preached thinges correſpondent vnto the forme of faith already published of vs, ſo that none in this behalfe can repyne or gaynesay vs."
- "Mr. H …, whom no distinctions of that sort seemed to disturb, scarce gave himself or me breathing time from the last encounter, but, as if he had task'd himself to prove that the appearances of his vigour were not signs hung out in vain, in a few minutes he was in a condition for renewing the onset"
- "Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. For Homer, it means forking over a hundred dollars for a dusty box of chocolates at the Kwik-E-Mart after characteristically forgetting the holiday yet again. For Ned, it’s another opportunity to prove his love for his wife. Most germane to the episode, for Lisa, Valentine’s Day means being the only person in her entire class to give Ralph a Valentine after noticing him looking crestfallen and alone at his desk."
- "WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets. They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies."
- "“The commission is not set up to disprove or to prove President Trump’s claim, nor is it just looking at the 2016 election. We’re looking at all forms of election irregularities, voter fraud, voter registration fraud, voter intimidation, suppression, and looking at the vulnerabilities of the various elections we have in each of the 50 states,” Kobach told “New Day” co-host Chris Cuomo."
- "Importantly, the hypothesis cannot be proven to be true—it can only be proven to be false."
Etymology
From Middle English proven, from Old English prōfian (“to esteem, regard as, evince, try, prove”) and Old French prover (“to prove”), both from Latin probō (“test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove”, verb), from probus (“good, worthy, excellent”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-s (“being in front, prominent”), from *pro-, *per- (“toward”) + *bʰuH- (“to be”). Displaced native Middle English sothen (“to prove”), from Old English sōþian (“to prove”). Doublet of probe. More at for, be, soothe.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɹuv/
- British English: /ˈpɹuːv/
Usage
Inflected Forms
proves (present, singular)
proving (participle, present)
proved (past)
proved (participle, past)
proven (participle, past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
proved (first person, past)
provest (archaic, present)
proved (past, second person)
provedst (archaic, past)
proveth (archaic, present)
Derived Forms
Phrases
exception that proves the rule
fend and prove
prove oneself
prove out
proving ground
until proven otherwise
the exception proves the rule