direct evidence

American  

noun

1. evidence of a witness who testifies to the truth of the fact to be proved (contrasted with circumstantial evidence).

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direct evidence British  

noun

1. law evidence, usually the testimony of a witness, directly relating to the fact in dispute Compare circumstantial evidence

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Example Sentences

According to the researchers, this provides the first direct evidence that the glycocalyx functions almost like a display screen, showing information about a cell's internal state on its outer surface.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

Scientists had misunderstood the jugal bone in snakes and snake relatives for generations, and the Najash fossils gave them direct evidence to correct the record.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

And no fossil has yet been found with stomach contents that would offer direct evidence of what they were dining on.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

"While the direct evidence of physical advantage in transgender people is pretty strong, the evidence of advantage for those with DSD, even though they have a Y chromosome, is highly disputed."

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

It would give physicists the first direct evidence that the big bang was correct and that steady state was wrong.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife